Port gets victory in registration of community trademarks

The registration of community trademarks accepted arguments of the Wine Institute of Douro and Porto against DI PORTOFINO brand. Upon opposition by the Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro and Porto (IVDP), the registration of Community trade marks - Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) - rejected DI PORTOFINO brand with an Italian company which wanted to point food and non-alcoholic products.
As a basis for this decision was the impact of the international name PORTO, as well as its prestige, already recognized in decisions of the courts of Portugal and references to the reputation of this product by independent sources, such as specialized magazines and books, as described in the decision document.
To defend the reputation and distinctiveness of the designation of origin of the word Port, IVDP has been fighting the use of unjustified designation of PORTO and PORT in either alcohol or for other products and services. This fight has been done, not only nationally, but also at the EU level, since there have been frequent attempts to register trademarks similar to these denominations across Europe. One of the last victories of this IVDP work was the rejection by the OHIM to register the mark DI PORTOFINO for food and non-alcoholic beverages by an Italian company, upon opposition by the Institute.
The goal of this national and international fight is book for generous wine of the Douro the use of PORTO, protecting the high commercial and appealing value of this word. It is a strategy also followed by other denominations of origin, such as Champagne, in order to avoid the vulgarization and improper use of the prestige of the name of the great regions demarcated.
One of the lines of this battle is to prevent the registration of trademarks that include the word PORTO, PORT or Douro, not only in alcoholic beverages without the right to use them, but also in other products, food or not (such as coffee, olive oil, tea, chocolates, perfumes, etc.). The National Institute of Industrial Property already accommodates this concern, after multiple complaints of IVDP, and has been rejected the same or similar PORTO and Douro marks, for various products and services, except in exceptional and duly justified.
The IVDP therefore intends to maintain and deepen this line of action, which values the Port wines and the positioning of this product in the market of great wines with internationally recognized status.