INTA Annual Meeting speakers discuss GIs and Italian food

Managing IP is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 1-2 Paris Gardens, London, SE1 8ND

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2025

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

INTA Annual Meeting speakers discuss GIs and Italian food

“We now hand over to Paola Gelato of Studio Legale Jacobacci to talk about geographical indications in Italy. And I warn you, anyone that skipped lunch is going to find this difficult,” said chair Jaroslaw Kulikowski of Kulikowska & Kulikowski in Poland in yesterday’s session, Appellations d’Origine: Made in Europe. And so it proved.

Gelato ran the audience through some existing high-profile geographical indications (GIs) and the key cases that have formed legal practice on the issue. These included Pizza Napoletana, which recently received a Traditional Specialty Guaranteed (TSG) designation for its red, white and green toppings that mimic the Italian flag. Mozzarella di Bufala Campana is another example of a foodstuff with a TSG, which aims to protect traditional methods of manufacture rather than a particular region of origin.

Then it was onto the Balsamico di Modena and Salame Felino—important test cases—before Gelato explained that the Italian Consumer Protection Code was also a valuable tool in protecting GIs, as labels that mislead the consumer as to the origin of a product can lead to them being banned. Those products were honey, supposed to be from Mount Etna, and Lardo di Colonnata (bacon).

The talk was washed down with some Budweiser beer, both the Anheuser-Busch and Budvar varieties, as Gelato talked through the Italian leg of that series of cases, which led to the Budvar GI being rendered “null and void.”

more from across site and SHARED ros bottom lb

More from across our site

Attorneys explain why there are early signs that the US Supreme Court could rule in favour of ISP Cox in a copyright dispute
A swathe of UPC-related hires suggests firms are taking the forum seriously, as questions over the transitional stage begin
A win for Nintendo in China and King & Spalding hiring a prominent patent litigator were also among the top talking points
Rebecca Newman at Addleshaw Goddard, who live-reported on the seminal dispute, unpicks the trials and tribulations of the case and considers its impact
Attorneys predict how Lululemon’s trade dress and design patent suit against Costco could play out
Lawyers at Linklaters analyse some of the key UPC trends so far, and look ahead to life beyond the transition period
David Rodrigues, who previously worked at an IP boutique, said he may become more involved in transactional work at his new firm
Indian smartphone maker Lava must pay $2.3 million as a security deposit for past sales, as its dispute with Dolby over audio coding SEPs plays out
Powell Gilbert’s opening in Düsseldorf, complete with a new partner hire, continues this summer’s trend of UPC-related lateral movement
IP leaders at Brandsmiths and Bird & Bird, who were on opposing sides at the UK Supreme Court in Iconix v Dream Pairs, unpick the landmark case and its ramifications
Gift this article