The Specialised IP Division of the Court of Milan has issued a landmark decision concerning the protection in Italy of the Swiss PDO ‘Emmentaler’/’Emmental Svizzero’ (‘Swiss Emmentaler’). The court found that the denomination should be protected in Italy – even though it is not protected at the EU level – on the basis of the 1951 Stresa Convention.

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An amendment to the Korean Trademark Act was announced on December 2 2011 to reflect provisions of the recently ratified Free Trade Agreement between Korea and the United States. The amendment will come into force on March 15 2012, the effective date of the agreement. Among other things, it will be possible to protect sound and scent marks, and the amended Trademark Act will implement a system of statutory damages.

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Following the coming into effect of the EU-Korea Free Trade Agreement, a number of acts that directly relate to intellectual property have been amended. Among other things, based on the new agreement, 162 European GIs can now be protected in South Korea – these include Chianti, Toscana, Cognac, Scotch whisky, Gorgonzola and Feta.

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The Agreement between the European Union and the Swiss Confederation on the protection of designations of origin and geographical indications for agricultural products and foodstuffs entered into force on December 1 2011. The new agreement amends the so-called ‘Agricultural Agreement’ of 1999 by adding Annex 12, which contains lists of protected DOs and GIs of Switzerland and the European Union.

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Next month WIPO member states and interested parties will discuss a new draft instrument for the protection of geographical indications (GIs) and appellations of origin. The proposals follow Antonio Campinos’ recent statement that OHIM would welcome the opportunity to oversee a non-agricultural register of GIs. However, the Europe v United States divide on GIs seems as wide as ever.

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The Bureau National Interprofessionel du Cognac and the Institut National de l’Origine et de la Qualité have successfully opposed the registration of the figurative trademarks FRACOGNAC, applied for by a Chinese entity in respect of, among other things, wine, brandy, cocktails, alcoholic drinks (except beer) and whiskey.

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The Bureau National Interprofessionel du Cognac and the Institut National de l’Origine et de la Qualité have successfully opposed the registration of the figurative trademarks FRACOGNAC, applied for by a Chinese entity in respect of, among other things, wine, brandy, cocktails, alcoholic drinks (except beer) and whiskey.

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In Bureau national interprofessionnel du Cognac v Gust Ranin Oy, the ECJ has clarified the protection afforded to geographical indications under Regulation 110/2008. According to the ECJ, the regulation is applicable to trademarks registered prior to its entry into force, as rules for the protection of geographical indications had already been incorporated into EU law before that date.

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The Commission for the Protection of Competition has ordered one of Bulgaria’s largest meat-processing companies to pay a fine of €168,000 for producing and selling a flat sausage under the name Karloska Krepost. The commission found that ‘Karloska Krepost’ was similar to ‘Karlovska Lukanka’, a protected designation of origin for the traditional Bulgarian flat sausage produced in the town of Karlovo.

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The Supreme Court has confirmed the refusal to register the trademark RUTA SOUR PICA for “sour cocktailsâ€� in Class 33. The lower court had upheld an opposition by Cooperativa Agrícola de Pica Ltda, the owner of the geographical indication ‘limón de Pica’ for lemons, on the grounds that there would be a likelihood of confusion if the trademark applied for was registered, even for different goods.

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