The World Trade Organisation (“WTO”) reached a verdict on 21 December 2004 against the European Union in a trade complaint by the US and Australia against European Union Rules protecting regional and traditional food names, such as “Parma” ham. The WTO dispute panel stated that the EU system was incompatible with trade rules because the system did not allow the registration of non-European products.
The dispute panel found that the EU could not block producers of Idaho potatoes or Florida oranges from protecting their food names in Europe simply because the US had not itself adopted a system for the protection of such “geographical indications”. The EU’s protected list of foods will have to be opened up to non-European products.
The panel also agreed that Europe could not, consistent with WTO rules, deny US trademark owners their rights. The panel emphasised that any exceptions to trademark rights for the use of registered geographical indications were narrow, and limited to the actual geographical indication name as registered.
This article first appeared in our Food industry law bulletin May 2005. To view this publication, please click here to open a new window.
