The Prosecco PDO Protection Consortium has announced a significant legal victory in its ongoing efforts to ensure the correct use of the term “Prosecco”—in Italy and abroad—and to safeguard the denominations protected by its three member consortia: the Consorzio di Tutela Prosecco DOC, the Consorzio di Tutela Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco DOCG, and the Consorzio Vini Asolo Montello.
On 11 June, the Regional Court of Warsaw ruled in favour of the Prosecco DOC Consortium in a case concerning the misuse of the Prosecco designation on beauty products sold in Poland by a well-known U.S. multinational, which operates locally via a distributor—the direct subject of the legal action. The first-instance judgment, which remains open to appeal, upheld the claims brought by the Consortia, represented in court by the Prosecco DOC Consortium.
The court found that the use of the term Prosecco to market and promote body care products—including on packaging and online—constitutes an unlawful evocation of the designation, an exploitation of its reputation, and a misleading communication to consumers.
This marks the first substantive ruling in Poland concerning the infringement of a Geographical Indication (GI) outside the agri-food sector. The decision confirms the prohibition on using protected designations for unrelated product categories and is being hailed as a precedent-setting case.
The ruling also confirmed the Consortium’s legal standing not only to act against GI infringement but also to pursue claims of unfair competition—recognizing its role as the representative body of producers’ interests.
“This decision affirms the effectiveness of the joint protection strategy implemented over the years by ‘Sistema Prosecco’,” said Giancarlo Guidolin, President of the Prosecco DOC Consortium, joined in his comments by Franco Adami, President of the Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco DOCG Consortium, and Michele Noal, President of the Asolo Montello Wines Consortium. “In fact, it sets a significant precedent for the protection of Geographical Indications in Europe. The recognition of infringement in a product category so far removed from wine is by no means a foregone conclusion.”
Following this success, Sistema Prosecco plans to step up its monitoring and enforcement in the services sector, where misuse of the Prosecco name is also widespread.
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