Wine Law

29 protection of ornamental stones 34 , the first article of which stated that “products from granite, slate or other ornamental stones displaying distinctive features or characteristics due to the environment and/or their enhancement shall be protected under the designation of origin status”. It should be noted that the distinctive manner of treatment of the raw material (a purely human intervention, which turns it into an industrial product) will be enough to guarantee protection under the scheme. This Act, which was claimed to take a “significant step” 35 in the path towards the institution of designations of origin, was challenged by the state in an appeal to the Constitutional Court. The claimant argued it would encroach on the exclusive power of the state over industrial property regulation, obfuscating the natural scope of designations of origin, confined, under current legislation, to agricultural products and foodstuffs. The Constitutional Court, in its judgement 211/1990, found in relation to the scope of designations that: “the designation of origin is a quality that reflects the existing connection between a place and a product, the quality characteristics of which are associated with the environment in which they are produced. Even though in a high number of cases the impact of the environment is most relevant in foodstuffs, notably wine, this legal interest cannot be defined solely by the substance it is applied to ”. The exception has had no real implications as the Act was not enforced. However, it is evident that a system like this only guarantees the geographical origin of the stones. This may sound as if it were good enough, but surely we cannot go any further than an indication of origin status. It is not fitting for geographical indications, never mind designations of origin. Here lies the very core element of our discussion. There is a bewildering confusion of the designation of origin with the indication of origin 36 (the case of the 34 BOE 247, of 5 October 1985. 35 As stated by Professor AREÁN LALÍN, M. (1985-86), “Extensión de las denominaciones de origen a las piedras ornamentales”, Actas de Derecho Industrial y Derecho de Autor , 11, p. 575. 36 LÓPEZ BENÍTEZ regrets that the Constitutional Court in its judgement 211/1990 alluded to attempts by Spain and other countries at protecting as designations of origin non-agri-food “linked to a geographical