Italians froth over Croatia’s Prošek PDO
Members of the Italian government and Italian trade associations are fiercely opposing Croatia’s attempt to make Prošek, a dessert-style wine made from white grapes, a traditional term with Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) in the EU.
Products with a PDO have strong links to, or owe their quality or character to, the place in which they were made. For example, Kalamata olive oil is a PDO that is entirely produced in the region of Kalamata, Greece.
When Croatia became a member state of the EU in 2013, the EU required Croatia’s Prošek to be sold under the name Vino Dalmato due to concerns that the name “Prošek” is too similar to “Prosecco”. Italy’s Prosecco has enjoyed PDO status in the EU since 2009.
However, Croatia has now applied to register Prošek as a PDO, claiming that its historic wine has always been called Prošek and there is no danger of consumers confusing the dessert wine with Italy’s dry, sparkling Prosecco.
Risk of confusion
Speaking to WIPR Paola Stefanelli, trademark attorney at Bugnion, said that the risk of European consumers being confused between the two alcoholic beverages is incredibly high in this case.
“Prošek sounds like a translation of Prosecco, and when used for a white wine, can easily mislead consumers,” she explained. “The legitimate interests and rights of Prosecco producers would clearly be damaged enormously.”
The European Commission agreed to consider Croatia’s PDO application on in September, and we are now a few weeks into the 60-day period whereby the opposition procedure can be instigated.
Federvini, the Italian industry association for wines and spirits, published a statement to express its dissatisfaction with the application. According to Federvini, Croatia’s application is an unacceptable attempt to imitate Prosecco, a product that identifies denomination and is appreciated worldwide.
“Any attempt to emulate or weaken this denomination must be rejected forcefully,” the statement said.
Micaela Pallini, president of Federvini, commented: “It goes without saying that the term ‘Prošek’, in addition to being clearly illegitimate, would be highly misleading for international consumers and penalising for the export of Italian producers.”
‘An absolute disgrace’
As reported by Reuters, Italy’s agriculture minister Stefano Patuanelli told state broadcaster RAI that the entire Italian government would oppose Croatia’s application. Meanwhile, Luca Zaia, governor of the northerly Veneto region, reportedly called Croatia’s application an “absolute disgrace”.
In response, Janusz Wojiciechowski, EU agricultural commissioner, said that the similar sound of a name is not always a sufficient reason for an application to be rejected. Such names may “co-exist” in certain circumstances, according to Wojiciechowski.
Gilberto Cavagna, partner at Andersen, said that Italy faces an uphill battle.
Croatia’s application will not be granted if it creates confusion with a prior-registered term; however, the European Commission appears to be of the view that Prošek does not represent an imitation of Prosecco and that it would not give rise to misunderstandings on the market, Cavagna said.
According to Federvini, the Prosecco market is worth approximately €2 billion ($2.3 billion) per year, with exports accounting for half of this amount.
David Marques, principal consultant of litigation products and strategy at Clarivate, said that in Europe, wine and alcoholic beverages are at the centre of nearly 60% of all disputes regarding PDOs and Geographical Indications.
“This is a reflection of the importance these IP rights currently have in the market, in particular for alcoholic beverages,” he commented.
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