The President of the European Parliament, Mr Martin Schulz, on behalf of the institution he represents, addressed a firm letter on 19 March to the ICANN Board – the domain name system technical oversight body – expressing its strong concerns with the implications the delegation of the “.wine” and “.vin” might have on the European right holders, consumers and producers if Geographical Indications (GI) were not clearly protected in these strings. EFOW, the European Federation of Origin Wines, warmly welcomes the position expressed by the European Parliament in view of the upcoming ICANN meeting in Singapore on 23-27 March.
In Singapore, where ICANN will hold its 49th public meeting, the protection of Geographical Indications (GIs) on the “.wine” and “.vin” will certainly be debated. On that occasion, ICANN is supposed to present to Governments within the GAC (Governmental Advisory Committee), including the European Commission, two legal analysis which should shed light on the “legally complex and politically sensitive background” of GIs. These advices should help the ICANN Board consider the appropriate next steps of delegating the “.wine” and “.vin”. In view of this meeting, the European Parliament (EP), one of the largest democratic assemblies in the world representing Europe’s 500 million citizens, has decided to spell out that if GIs and consumer rights are not properly taken into account it will ask for the blunt rejection of these strings. A similar position was taken by the European Commission earlier this month. The letter recalls that the EP “has always been a strong supporter of GIs and advocates for an efficient and greater protection of these products in all forums“.
Riccardo RICCI CURBASTRO, the President of EFOW – the European Federation of Origin Wines – warmly welcomes the support of President Schulz and of the EP as a whole. “As a European citizen, a GI wine producer and a consumer I welcome the strong declaration made by the European Parliament President Schulz on the .wine and .vin issue. It reflects the values for which the European Union stands for with regard to the protection of Intellectual Property Rights. We sincerely thank President Schulz and all the Members of the European Parliament for their support. We hope that the ICANN Board will take into consideration this position expressed on behalf of EU citizens“.
Contacts:
Daniela Ida ZANDONA (Bruxelles): +32 2 733 50 58
Pascal BOBILLIER-MONNOT (Paris): +33 6 10 26 74 73
Jesús MORA CAYETANO (Madrid): +34 661 58 66 14
Cristiana TIRABOVI (Rome): +39 06 442 505 89
Alberto RIBEIRO DE ALMEIDA (Porto): +351 222 071 647