Wine Law

WINE AND ADVERTISING IN SPANISH LEGISLATION 343 Protection extends from production to all marketing phases – presentation, advertising, labelling and commercial documents. This protection also means that it is prohibited to use any false or misleading indication concerning the provenance, origin, nature or essential characteristics of the wines on the container or packaging, in advertising or in the documents referring to them. Geographical names that are protected may not be used in the designation, presentation or advertising of wines that do not meet the requirements of said level of protection. However, such names are translated into other languages or preceded by expressions such as “type”, “style”, “imitation” or similar, not even when the true origin of the wine is indicated. Nor is it allowed to use expressions such as “bottled in…”, “with cellar in…” or similar. We must take into account what is indicated in Law 6/2015, of 12 May, on Designations of Origin and Protected Geographical Indications of supra- autonomous territorial scope 33 and Royal Decree 267/2017, of 17 March, by which are developed Law 6/2015 and Law 12/2013, of 2 August, of measures to improve the functioning of the food chain 34 . According to Article 13 of Law 6/2015, the names subject to a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) or a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) may not be used as Internet domain names in cases in which the owner does not have the rights and legitimate interests over the name and uses it for the promotion or marketing of comparable products not covered by them. 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 straightforward way their designation or type of protection, as well as their geographical origin or provenance, in order to avoid consumer confusion. PDO or PGI operators 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 33 BOE no. 114, 13 May 2015. 34 BOE no. 66, 18 March 2017.