Champagne Spearheads EU Brand War

“Champagne is fighting this battle in Europe, and they seem to be winning,” said Bernard O’Connor, a managing partner at the European law firm Nctm who specializes in trade and agriculture law. “It seems logical that they’ll next take the fight to global markets.” He is referring to the battle of the brands, being waged in the IP arena. The Comité Champagne, the trade association that represents Champagne (as distinct from the lower case bubbly that used to call itself champagne until winemakers from the fabled French region where the real stuff is made put an end to that) recently warned Apple not to call its gold Iphone “Champagne.” They have sued bloggers, water bottlers and high fashion brands for the same offense. A recent opinion from the European Court of Justice on a product sold by the discount grocer Aldi as “Champagne sorbet” expands the reach of EU laws that dictate that only Portuguese dessert wine can be called “port,” and that “Stilton” is blue cheese made in Britain and nowhere else. The Aldi dessert actually contained Champagne – the real thing – but the Comité Champagne claimed the use of the protected name on a non-wine product cheapened it.