160 WINE LAW On the other hand, articles 117 to 123 regulate the labelling and presentation of wine products. Article 117 defines what is meant by “labelling and presentation”, considering (a) labelling as “any word, indication, trade mark, trademark, pictorial matter or symbol placed on any package, document, notice, label, ring or collar accompanying or referring to a given product” and (b) presentation as “the information conveyed to consumers about the product concerned, including the shape and type of bottles”. Moreover, under the same Regulation, geographical indications (name of the PDO/PGI and corresponding expressions) and information on operators are compulsory indications on the labelling of wine products [art. 119(1)(b)10, (e) and (f)], while the EU symbols for PDO-PGI and smaller or larger geographical areas, among others, are considered as optional indications [art. 120(1)(e) and (g)]. It can thus be concluded that geographical indications and trademarks are part of the labelling of the product since, in both cases, they are signs that convey certain information to the consumer, given the function that both signs, as distinctive elements, provide to the product. Nevertheless, the commercial significance of each of these distinctive signs is different: the trademark individualises and differentiates between competing or non-competing products (which may belong to the same geographical indication) and the geographical indication unites operators around it, so that it can be said to differentiate between groups of operators, depending on the geographical link between their products and the territory. As such, using elements that identify and distinguish the labelling of wine products is a key element in determining the relevance of each sign in relation to the information to be provided to consumers, the end-users of wine products. III. THE LEGAL BASIS FOR THE USE OF SHARED TRADEMARKS The legal basis for the possibility of operators being able to use the same trademark to identify wine products protected by different geographical indications is found in different rules. On the one hand, in the generic trademark legislation, Law 17/2001, of 7 December, on Trademarks, which recognises the 10 With the exception provided for in article 119(3), according to which “by way of derogation from paragraph 1(b), the reference to the terms “protected designation of origin” or “protected geographical indication” may be omitted in the following cases: (a) where a traditional term within the meaning of article 112(a) appears on the label in accordance with the specifications referred to in article 94(2); (b) in duly justified exceptional circumstances to be determined by the Commission by means of delegated acts adopted in accordance with article 227 in order to ensure compliance with current labelling practices.”.
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