IP Wine
Wine law is unusually complex.
Whether it concerns the protection of the product (from indications of origin to the specific features of wine trademark law), of the consumer (from advertising regulations to fraud prevention) or the law and economics of distribution, we face a veritable maze of French and EU regulations, which keeps growing.
Aware of the specific nature of the wine market, IP SPHERE has developed particular expertise, recognised by both the industry and the academic world. The IP WINE team offers a wide range of legal services in wine law.
These services include:
Legal risk analysis
- Opinions on the compliance of wine trademarks (use of traditional or optional terms, conflicts with protected designations of origin and geographical indications, etc.)
- Wine trademark availability searches (identical and similar marks)
- Freedom-to-operate studies for wine names
- Strategies to clear the way for a wine trademark (use investigations, letters of consent, coexistence agreements, buy-outs, etc.)
- Assistance and advice on labelling and traceability standards
- Analysis of consumer deception offences and related offences
Obtaining and maintaining rights
- Wine trademark filing worldwide
- Handling of examination and registration procedures (office actions, observations from the INAO, the French National Institute of Origin and Quality, and other French and foreign authorities, opposition proceedings, registration)
- Monitoring of deadlines and renewals
Exploiting and enhancing rights
- Negotiation, drafting and review of agreements (assignment, licence, co-ownership, etc.)
- Valuation and enhancement of wine trademark portfolios
- Securing communication projects in France (Évin Law, which regulates alcohol advertising)
- Recordal of wine trademarks in national, European and international registers
- Audits on the acquisition or sale of wine estates
Watching and enforcement
- Watching of trademarks, company names and domain names
- Customs watch
- Competitor monitoring
- Oppositions, disputes and pre-litigation negotiations
- Court actions in cooperation with attorneys-at-law highly specialised in wine law (infringement, unfair competition, infringement seizures (saisie-contrefaçon), customs detention, preliminary injunctions, invalidity actions, revocation actions, ownership claims, etc.)
Prefer to write? Describe your project using the contact form.
