Link: https://curia.europa.eu/jcms/upload/docs/application/pdf/2020-12/cp200168en.pdf

Languages available: bg es cs da de et el en fr hr it lv lt hu mt nl pl pt ro sk sl fi sv

Court of Justice of the European Union

PRESS RELEASE No 168/20 Luxembourg, 17 December 2020

Judgment in Case C-490/19 Syndicat interprofessionnel de défense du fromage Morbier v Société Fromagère du Livradois SAS

EU law prohibits the reproduction of the shape or appearance of a product protected by a PDO in certain circumstances

It is necessary to determine whether that reproduction may mislead consumers taking into account all the relevant factors, including the way in which the product is presented to the public and marketed and the factual context

Morbier is a cheese produced in the Jura mountains (France) which has enjoyed a protected designation of origin (PDO) since 22 December 2000. It is characterised by the presence of a black line which divides the cheese in two horizontally. That black line, originally made from a layer of cinder and now made from vegetable carbon, is expressly referred to in the product description in the specification for the PDO.