프랑스 및 유럽연합에서의 원산지명칭과 상표 간 분쟁에 관한 고찰

Today, we live in a global world. Not only communication hasbeen globalized, but also the market for goods and services. Productslabelled with a trademark or with an appellation of origin are sold allover the world. French laws and European Union regulations anddirectives recognize the exclusive right of the trademark holder to usethe trademark and prevent others from using it, as well as the exclusiveright of holder of the appellation of origin to use it in relation to goodswith distinctive qualities. Both trademarks and appellations of originmust be registered in order to protected. So what happens when anappellation of origin and a trademark proprietor lay claim to the samesign within a single jurisdiction? If products or services are sold in thesame market, bearing a trademark identical or similar to an appellationof origin, a conflict arises which may lead to fierce litigation betweenthe owners of trademark and the conflicting appellation of origin. Itgenerally accepted that a trademark cannot be registered if it collideswith a prior appellation of origin. However, a recent lawsuit raises thequestion on what should happen when the trademark is registeredbefore the appellation of origin. In such a situation, which one shouldwin and why? There are three options. First, some feel that a priortrademark should take precedence over a later appellation of origin. They assert that otherwise the trademark owner will be faced with global extinction of its brand equity and legal stability on registration. Proponents of trademarks argue that the only fair way to solve conflictsbetween appellations of origin and trademarks is to use the principle of“first in time, first in right,” which means that the sign that is protectedfirst, whether it is a trademark or an appellations of Origin, shall takeprecedence over (principle of priority) and prevent the use of (principleof exclusivity) any conflicting subsequent sign. The principles ofpriority and exclusivity are the essence of trademark law. Second, thereare those who feel appellations of origin should take precedence overtrademarks, even when there is a prior trademark in existence. This viewbasically implies that the trademark owner whose trademark is also ageographic term has unfairly taken that term, and therefore theproducers in the area should be allowed to reclaim it as an appellation oforigin. Other arguments often relate to regional economics, qualityassurance and consumer protection. Third, some believe it is possible fora prior trademark and a later appellation of origin to coexist, by default itmeans the trademark is no longer exclusive. France and European Unionhave been particularly adamant and outspoken in favor of stricterprotection of appellations of origin for a variety of reasons. Foremostamong them is that appellations of origin are common particularly in thewine and cheese industries. Wine and cheese are part of their heritageand are a reliable export asset for them. France et European Union havethus blazed a trail in the protection of their heritage by creatingAppellations d’Origine Contrôlée (AOC) and Appellations d’OrigineProtégée (AOP). In terms of wine, there are dozens of AOC or AOPsuch as Bordeaux, Bourgogne, Champagne, Côte du Rhone, Saint-Emilion, Romanée-Conti etc. Since France and European Union viewappellations of origin as deserved protection for products of high qualityand reputation, they provide a model of strict protection of appellations of origin. To avoid the use of an appellation of origin in relation toproducts that do not qualify or because having a different origin or notbeing manufactured according to methods regulated by the specific ruleapplicable to the appellation, the French and community laws haveprohibited the use of appellations for similar products if such use islikely to divert or to weaken the notoriety of the appellation of origin. The notoriety of the appellation of origin is thus effectively protectedagainst parasitic practice. In a widely publicized French case lawconcerning the appellation of origin Champagne used as perfumetrademark, this appellation was prohibited from using for not onlysimilar products but also non-similar goods.