Wine Law

9 For instance, “Barolo”, “Barbaresco”, “Chianti Classico dal 1716” and “Prosecco di Conegliano di Valdobbiadene” are geographical collective trademarks, registered by the relevant Consortia, whose designations correspond to designations of origin (DOCG in all the above-mentioned cases). Consortia of protection play a fundamental role and constitute the real element of connection between DOs and trademarks, since they have a prominent role in the promotion and protection of designations of origin and geographical indications and, at the same time, they are often the owners of geographical collective trademarks. This scenario seems to contradict the unique ruling, which has denied the possible coexistence between collective trademarks and designations of origin and geographical indications, i.e. Court of Rome, 30 April 2014. This decision appears to contradict the well- established Italian case-law, as well as the concrete recent evolution of the wine sector. On a final note, the strategy followed by Consortia is useful to obtain an effective protection, also in those countries, where Italian and EU designations of origin and geographical designations are not protected. Therefore, the growing export of wine products and the increasing interest for the registration of collective trademarks have to be analysed together. That said, in relation to collective trademarks, Law Decree No. 15, in transposition of EU Directive 2436/2015, has also introduced certification trademarks, which are aimed at guaranteeing and certifying certain characteristics of the goods, such as their quality, other than their geographical origin. Due to their nature, the owners of certification trademarks, i.e. collective bodies, or associations, having the role of certifiers, cannot use the sign for commercial purposes, actively selling certified, or similar products. As for collective trademarks, the use of certification trademarks is subject to the strict respect of a government of use. At the EU level, certification trademarks are ruled by Articles 83 through 92 of the Regulation (EU) No. 2017/1001. In consideration of the fact that this new category of signs shall not be linked to the geographical nature of the products, it is difficult to evaluate the real extent of the reform in the wine sector, since, as said, the qualitative characteristics of wine products, protected by the law, are generally linked to their geographical origin.