INAO and Syndicat Général des Vignerons des Côtes du Rhône win favorable decision involving unlawful use of famous wine geographical indication

Client(s) Syndicat Général des Vignerons des Côtes du Rhône

On behalf of The French National Institute of Origin and Quality (INAO)—the French administrative body in charge of defending French and foreign geographical indications (GI) worldwide—and the representative body of wine producers of the famous GI "(H)Ermitage", Jones Day obtained a favorable judgment from the Paris court of first instance in a dispute over a wine producer's infringing use of the famous GI "Ermitage", as a sale denomination, for a French wine benefitting from the GI "Corbières" and not from the prestigious "(H)Ermitage" GI. In its March 3, 2022, ruling, characterized as "historical" by the INAO, the court prohibited defendant's further sales of the wine using the "Ermitage" denomination and ordered product recalls (subject to a daily penalty fine) and payment of substantial damages, as well as partial reimbursement of our clients' expenses incurred for the proceedings.