88 WINE LAW aromatised wine protected in the EU are accessible in the public database eAmbrosia24. Article 101 of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 specifically defines a generic wine name as a name that relates to the place or the region where this product was originally produced or marketed but has become the common name of a wine in the Union – these cannot be protected as a designation of origin or a geographical indication. Under Article 103(3), however, PDOs and PGIs cannot subsequently become generic in the EU. 3. HOMONYMOUS GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS Homonymous geographical indications are identical or similar in spelling and/or pronunciation but are used to designate the geographical origin of products stemming from different countries25. The problem with homonymous geographical indications arises when they are used in the same market to designate identical or similar products26: a well-known and often-cited example is Rioja wine, produced in Spain and Argentina, as there is a wine-growing region named Rioja in both countries27. Nevertheless, apart from the case of generic names, there are situations where homonymous geographical indications for the same type of goods can co-exist without being misleading. An honest use of such geographical indications should be possible when the true geographical origin of the products on which they are used is indicated (i.e. where the names of places of origin are identical or similar)28. Conversely, concurrent use of homonymous geographical indications may also be misleading where a (famous) geographical indication is associated with specific qualities and characteristics which are absent from the products sold under its homonym29. Therefore, Article 22(4) TRIPS extends the protection against misleading designation of origin to cases where a geographical indication is literally the territory, region or location in which the goods originate but, in fact, it falsely represents to the public that the goods originate in another territory. Conflicts of this kind typically occur in connection with wines30. Hence, WTO and EU laws contain specific provisions that, in principle, allow the 24 Available in: https://ec.europa.eu/info/food-farming-fisheries/food-safety-andquality/certification/quality-labels/geographical-indications-register/ (last accessed on 20.12.2020). 25 M. Blakeney, p. 27. See discussion on what constitutes a homonymous name at K. Shimura, pp. 144-146. 26 B. O'Connor, p. 104. 27 L. Monten, p. 320. J. Addor & A. Grazioli, p. 879. 28 WIPO document SCT/5/3, para. 89; O’Connor, p. 106. 29 WIPO document SCT/5/3, pp. 83-84. 30 L. Monten, p. 320.
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