Wine Law

21 along with the misuse and the imitation, does not necessarily require the existence of a concrete risk of confusion among consumers. In some cases, the pressure exerted by Consortia may be even more effective, especially if actively supported by local and national institutions. In similar cases it may be possible to stop the challenged infringing third parties’ behaviour, without the intervention of the Judge. In this sense, it is worth mentioning a recent and interesting case, always regarding Prosecco. In January 2020, the owner of a pub, located in London, installed a wine dispenser, in a former yellow ATM, promoting his original initiative with the designation “the bank of bubbles – Prosecco ATM” 11 . This commercial enterprise has been largely promoted by the English press and it immediately gained a remarkable success. However, the Prosecco designation of origin was improperly used, since the draft wine dispensed by the automated Prosecco machine had nothing to do with the original Prosecco. As a matter of fact, the Prosecco government of use expressly prohibits to use the designation of origin for draft wines. Therefore, also in consideration of the spread of the initiative, the Consortium for the Protection of the Controlled Designation of Origin Prosecco firmly condemned the offer on sale of draft wine as original Prosecco and obtained the immediate removal of the so- called “bank of bubbles”, without the intervention of the Judicial Authority. Moreover, the Italian Ministry of Agriculture actively supported the Consortium, with a firm official statement 12 . This case clearly shows the importance of the daily concrete action of collective bodies, as well as the need of a deeper cooperation between Consortia and institutions. Obviously, also the protection of collective geographical trademarks, trademarks of certification and traditional designations requires the same efforts, especially for the foreign market. Furthermore, the effectiveness of this strategy also depends on the cooperation among States and international organisations. This is the reason why Italy, and the entire 11 See the following article of the UK press : https://www.forbes.com/sites/bridgetarsenault/2020/01/30/a- prosecco-atm-in-london-is-dispensing-free-bubbles/#2a467ce26027. 12 See: https://sistemaproprietaintellettuale.it/notizie/made-in-italy/17621-tutela-del-made-in-italy- rimosso-il-bancomat-del-prosecco-a-londra.html?title=prosecco.