The CERHA HEMPEL Food Law Corner provides an insight into current legal developments and the latest case-law in the food and beverage industry. Our attorneys regularly advise clients on the regulatory requirements in connection with food information, health and nutrition claims, advertising & marketing, novel foods, the introduction of food supplements on the market and much more. We represent our clients in administrative proceedings, cases under the Unfair Competition Act, and trademark protection including PDO and PGI.
The Austrian Patent Office (ÖPA) prohibited the word mark "TSCHIN" from being registered in goods classes 32 (non-alcoholic beverages) and 33 (alcoholic beverages) on the grounds of lack of distinctiveness and deceptiveness. Within the relevant public, the sign creates the impression that it is gin and related products.
Member states may prohibit the sale of cosmetics if they are confusingly similar to foodstuffs and thus endanger the health of consumers. This was decided by the ECJ in connection with the complaint of a Lithuanian cosmetics manufacturer, which was accused of selling bath balls in the appearance of food ("ice cream scoops"). Caution is therefore required for companies that manufacture food-like products.
Member states may prohibit the sale of cosmetics if they are confusingly similar to foodstuffs and thus endanger the health of consumers. This was decided by the ECJ in connection with the complaint of a Lithuanian cosmetics manufacturer, which was accused of selling bath balls in the appearance of food ("ice cream scoops"). Caution is therefore required for companies that manufacture food-like products.
Under EU law, a trade mark may not be registered if there are absolute grounds for refusal. Accordingly, a sign may not be registered as a trade mark if it consists "exclusively of signs or indications which may serve, in trade, to designate the kind, quality, quantity, intended purpose, value, geographical origin, or the time of production of the goods or of the rendering of the service, or other characteristics of the goods or service" (Article 7(1)(c) of the European Union Trade Mark Regulation [Regulation (EU) 2017/1001]).
Under the Novel Food Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2015/2283), novel foods require EU-wide authorisation prior to being placed on the market.
The Food Safety and Consumer Protection Act and the Health and Food Security Act were both amended by Federal Law Gazette I 256/2021. Some of the new provisions entered into force on 1 January 2022, whereas others took effect on 22 February 2022.
Following a legal dispute that lasted many years between fish finger manufacturer Iglo and its competitor Appel Feinkost, Iglo has suffered yet another setback.
The Food Information Regulation ("FIR") establishes the rules for the (basic) labelling of food in the European Union. A nutrition declaration, among other things, is mandatory.
On 12 November 2021, the European Commission authorised the placing on the market of frozen, dried and powder forms of Locusta migratoria (migratory locust) as a novel food.
A sound mark is a mark consisting exclusively of a sound or a combination of sounds. As of 2017, it is possible to represent sound marks by submitting an audio file in MP3 format to be included in the multimedia trademark register.