Wine Law

22 protection for designations of origin and geographical indications may now, according to the Commission, be afforded only within the framework laid down by that regulation” (section 13). In relation to exclusivity, uniformity and exhaustiveness of the European protection system of geographical designations of agricultural products and foodstuffs within the scope of that system, the landmark case in its own right would be Judgement (Grand Chamber) of 8 September 2009, the Bud ruling. The Court argued “the question therefore arises more precisely whether Regulation nº 510/2006 is exhaustive in nature so that it precludes such national protection and, consequently, also precludes extension of that protection under the bilateral instruments at issue to the territory of another Member State”. The Grand Chamber replied by referencing previous rulings that “the aim of Regulation No 2081/92 is to ensure uniform protection within the Community of the geographical designations which it covers; it introduced a requirement of Community registration in respect of those designations so that they could enjoy protection in every Member State”. Therefore, it finds that the purpose of the European regulation “is not to establish, alongside national rules which may continue to exist, an additional system of protection for qualified geographical indications (…), but to provide a uniform and exhaustive system of protection for such indications” (sections 106, 107 and 114). Accordingly, the European scheme of designations of origin, as defined by law, becomes the only susceptible of being implemented all across the EU. To put it differently, the only protection scheme of geographical designations provided for by EU’s law is that which is established in the Regulations discussed, the relevant registration of the names protected being required. The European system has then taken over , exclusively, the safeguarding of those designations that are within its natural scope. A scope which the preamble to current Regulation No. 1151/2012 defines: “The scope for designations of origin and geographical indications should be limited to products for which an intrinsic link exists between product or foodstuff characteristics and geographical origin” (introductory statement 17).