DESIGNATIONS OF ORIGIN WITHIN THE EU: LEGAL CHALLENGES 57 new legal interest, is still very contested by scholars. It is worth remembering that ALDO or TRIPS content themselves with making use of an ambiguous “product” as the object of protection, even though the wording of their definitions would seemingly require more distinct boundaries for the scope. Additionally, those who were advocating – even after those agreements were approved – sharper and more precise definitions – as Mascareñas did in the 1950s – did not oppose the inclusion of products so diverse that, in practice, would render such definitions pointless. This blurring of boundaries for the scope can also be seen in the continued exercise in stretching the concept. Not only should industrial products be regulated under the designations framework, as suggested by some, we should also realise that we “cannot dismiss the possibility of extending the protection of designations of origin to the provision of services in the future”34. According to them, there is no denying there is a growing demand for the protection of non-food products under the legal framework of designations35. These controversial, but extremely relevant, issues will be tackled by first going over some concepts, norms and ruling, then delving into various scholarly opinions and wrapping up with a personal assessment. 5.1. Various Attempts at Regulation and the Role of Courts: Current Uncertainty in the European Union The first Spanish attempts at regulating designations of origin were made concerning wine, with other agricultural products and foodstuffs being later targeted as well. Through Regulatory Act of 5 September 1953, there was a further attempt at extending the scope, which did not come to fruition, as it set up the General Inspectorate for Designations of Origin. It was approved by the Ministry for Energy and Industrial Strategy and it aimed at regulating – as stated in the first paragraph of its Preamble – those designations that, because of their “industrial nature”, “can be described as products of singular quality, being manufactured in a way closely linked to a geographical area”. This was a qualifying circumstance “for the official recognition by the Ministry for Energy 34 This is the opinion formulated in BERCOVITZ RODRÍGUEZ-CANO, A., (2002) Apuntes de Derecho Mercantil, 3ª ed., Aranzadi, Cizur Menor (Navarra), p. 511. GUILLEM CARRAU, J., is also in favour of such an extension. He believes that the concept would be embraced warmly by “service-providers in tourist resorts” (vid. “Nuevas reglas UE para las denominaciones de origen (Reglamento CE 1151/2012)”, La Ley Unión Europea, nº 9, 2013, p. 5). 35 MONTERO GARCÍA-NOBLEJAS, P., (2016) Denominaciones de origen e indicaciones geográficas, Tirant lo Blanch, Valencia, p. 140.
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