A wine battle before the General Court of the EU

The General Court of the European Union ruled in the Case T‑102/17, Cantina e oleificio sociale di San Marzano v EUIPO.

This case concerns an attempt by the Italian company  Cantina e oleificio sociale di San Marzano to register the following European trademark for Class 33 – wine:

Against this mark, an opposition was filed by the Spanish company Miguel Torres based on an earlier mark Sangre de Toro for the same goods.

Initially, EUIPO dismissed the opposition, but after that the Board of Appeal upheld it.

The applicant appealed before the General Court, stating that there are no similarities between the goods, taking into consideration the fact that both wines have different geographical origin, different distribution and so on.

The Court dismissed these arguments as groundless and upheld the opposition.

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