Notice for the OJ

 

Action brought on 21 March 2005 by the Commission of the European Communities

         against the Federal Republic of Germany

(Case C-132/05)

(Language of the case: German)

An action against the Federal Republic of Germany was brought before the Court of Justice of the European Communities on 21 March 2005, by the Commission of the European Communities, represented by Eugenio De March and Sabine Grünheid, with an address for service in Luxembourg.

The Commission of the European Communities claims that the Court should:

-    declare that, by formally refusing to prosecute, on its territory, the use of the name 'Parmesan' for the labelling of products which do not conform to the specification of the protected designation of origin 'Parmigiano Reggiano' and thus, promoting the use of the reputation of the genuine, Community-wide protected product, the Federal Republic of Germany has failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 13(1)(b) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92 of 14 July 1992 ¹ on the protection of geographical indications and designations of origin for agricultural products and foodstuffs;

-    order the Federal Republic of Germany to pay the costs of the proceedings.

Pleas in law and main arguments

The Commission is of the opinion that the placing on the market on German territory of cheese, under the designation 'Parmesan', which does not conform to the specification of the designation 'Parmigiano Reggiano' infringes Article 13(1)(b) of Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92, which the German authorities are obliged to prohibit of their own motion.

Since the designation 'Parmigiano Reggiano' is a registered protected designation of origin on the 'list of protected geographical indications and designations of origin' since 1996 and is, thus, protected Community-wide, the Member States have to protect this name from any misuse, imitation or evocation. This is the case even if the real place of origin of the product is stated or it is a translation of a protected name that is being used.

The Commission contends that 'Parmesan' is a translation borrowed from the French for 'Parmigiano Reggiano'. According to the Commission, 'Parmesan' and 'Parmigiano Reggiano' are synonymous, as evidenced by the history of the origins of the protected name and proof in numerous reference books, ranging from 1516 to the present, which refer to the manufacturing of cheese in the particular region of origin in Italy. As a result of the registration of the protected designation of origin 'Parmigiano Reggiano', the geographical expressions 'Parmigiano' and 'Reggiano' enjoy Community-wide protection not only individually, but also together.

According to the Commission, there are no valid reasons for the Federal Republic of Germany's view that the expression 'Parmigiano' is, when used alone, to be regarded as a generic name in the sense of Article 3 of Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92, which the consumer does not associate with a specific geographical area.

Since it follows from this that the use of the designation 'Parmesan' is reserved exclusively to producers in the specific Italian region who produce cheese according to a mandatory specification, the Federal Republic of Germany has failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 13(1)(b) of Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92 by refusing to prohibit the misuse of the name 'Parmesan' on German territory.

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¹ - OJ 1992 L 208, p. 1