Wine Law

Accordingly, the names of a PDO or a PGI are protected against their use in Internet domains that consist, contain or evoke said PDO or PGI. Moreover, trademarks that reproduce, imitate or evoke a protected name such as PDOs or PGIs may not be registered as trademarks, trade names or company names, provided that they are applied to the same or similar products, comparable or that they can take advantage of the reputation of the former. Agricultural and food operators must include on the labels and in the presentation of the products that are protected by a PDO or a PGI the elements that are necessary to differentiate in a simple and clear way their designation or type of protection, as well as their geographical origin or provenance, in order to avoid consumer confusion. The operators of a PDO or a PGI may not be required to use exclusive trademarks for the products of said PDO or PGI. The designation and presentation of the products must contain the identifying elements to avoid confusion in the consumer. It will be possible to regulate, whenever there is a request by a group of producers, the protection of the geographical names of the subzones and municipalities linked to the PDO and PGI, which are used for the commercialisation of the agricultural or food product covered by said terms, as long as it does not go against what is indicated in the legislation on food information. According to Article 39, the use in the labelling, presentation or advertising of products, of names, indications, qualifications, expressions or signs that do not correspond to the product or induce confusion is considered as a serious offense. The cases of Article 40(2), paragraphs a) and c) are excepted, which indicate that in relation to quality wines produced in a specific region, the use, when there is no right to do so, of indications, trade names, trademarks, symbols or emblems that refer to the names protected by a level of protection, or that, due to their phonetic or graphic similarity with the protected names or with the signs or emblems that are characteristic of it, may lead to confusion about the nature, quality or origin of the products, even if they are preceded by the terms “type”, “style”, “kind”, “imitation”, “substitute” or other analogues. Also, the use of protected names in products that have been expressly denied, as well as the infractions of articles 18(2) and 18(3). Article 39 of Law 24/2003 also mentions the use, when not entitled to do so, of the mentions on aging that are regulated in Article 3(a) or of the