The CJEU provides details on the interpretation of Article 16 of regulation (EC) No 110/2008 of 15 January 2008 concerning the definition, designation, presentation, labelling and protection of geographical origin labels for spirits.
Thus, “indirect commercial use” is the use of the disputed element in a form identical or similar “from a phonetic and/or visual point of view to the geographical origin”, appearing “in complementary marketing or information vectors, such as the advertising of the product or documents relating to it”. It is not sufficient that the element is likely to raise any association with said indication or with the relevant geographical area in the minds of the target audience.
In order for the ‘evocation’ to be made, the average European consumer must be “led to think directly, as a reference image, of the goods benefiting from the protected geographical origin label”. “It is not appropriate to take into account the context surrounding the disputed element and, in particular, the fact that it is accompanied by a clarification as to the true origin of the product concerned.“
In establishing the existence of a false or misleading geographical origin label, “the context in which the disputed element is used should not be taken into account.”
