Marking the connection of products with their territories of origin is essential to safeguarding their identity in the global market. In addition to PDOs and PGIs, which are the high road, it is worth considering De.Co. Municipal designations, one of the opportunities overlooked by national politicians of all flags. ABC to follow.
Treasures and names of the municipalities of Italy
Luigi Veronelli – a lucid observer of peasant agriculture and Italian food and wine traditions – is credited with the ingenious idea of enhancing the value of ‘communal’ products that for various reasons cannot bear the typical quality marks (DOP, IGP). ANCI, the National Association of Italian Municipalities, proposed a bill in 2000 that garnered wide support from local governments and just as much disinterest from national politics.
The De.Co. constitute an example of a private label for collective use. For the recognition and protection of agri-food and craft products made in the territory of a municipality. With special regard to those supply chains, traditions and activities that characterize the specific territory and contribute to its very fame, in the recurring combination of history, places and food specialties.
The local dimension has particular relevance in our country, the Italy of municipalities often endowed with histories and cultures independent of their neighbors, partly because of the various phases of colonization and subdivision of territories undergone since the Middle Ages. At the operational level, identifying municipal ‘treasures’ is worth preserving their history with an effective and economical tool such as branding. Without needing to resort to the complexities required for the recognition of ‘Geographical Indications‘ (GIs) such as PDOs and PGIs. The burdens and costs of registering and maintaining which are disproportionate to small productions, not even capable of touching the mass market.
However, municipal designations can promote the integrated development of territories, at the level of handicrafts and peasant agriculture as well as tourism and widespread hospitality. With a view to, among other things, mitigating the exodus of young people to the metropolises and keeping alive the many small municipalities now experiencing drastic depopulation. This tool has already been used for more than 400 Italian specialties. From Reggio Calabria’s San Giuseppe orange to Milan’s Panettone, Alexandrian pastries, Borettana onions, Moncalvo’s (Asti) Fat Ox Fair, and others.
De.Co., law and procedures
The interest of municipalities in representing local communities as well as preserving the identity of products related to customs and traditions is provided for in the rules on administrative decentralization. Which consider, among other things, the responsibility of entities to territorial economic development, the value of popular initiatives to promote collective interests through citizen participation, and the legitimacy of designations. (1)
The Constitution of the Italian Republic, following the reform of Title V (intervened by Constitutional Law 3/01), then gave local authorities the role of implementing laws-regional and national-according to the principles of subsidiarity and equi-ordination of the different political and administrative levels. This includes the right to protect popular expressions involving agribusiness as representative of a significant cultural heritage.
The ownership of De.Co. is up to the municipality to register the relevant trademarks. The procedure consists of two stages:
– interested social partners (e.g., growers and/or producers) apply to the municipality for De.Co. registration. Submitting as detailed a file as possible attesting to history and rootedness in the area, method of cultivation and/or production. The same applies to events or festivals to which this type of recognition is intended. The municipality may also take such initiatives ex officio,
– The City Council approves the De.Co., by special resolution granting its use free of charge by applicants who demonstrate that they meet the established requirements. The City Council establishes the De.Co. register, where all the appellations awarded are entered. Also in order to prevent the so-called. vulgarization and thus the counterfeiting of names and designations.
Regional legislation, De.Co. in progress
In Veneto, the draft regional law on ‘regulation and enhancement of municipal denominations‘, presented on 31.1.19, is under consideration by the III Regional Commission. As early as 2013, the Veneto region drafted a bill, which later failed, whose accompanying acts indicated that at least 40 municipalities would immediately benefit from the designation.
The region of Liguria has passed an ad hoc regional law, no. 11/18, on 7/27/18. As many bills have been introduced in Campania and Sicily. In turn, Lazio has endorsed the ‘Common Origin‘ project, launched by ANCI Lazio in 2018, showing support for this type of initiative.
PATs, Prodotti Agroalimentari Tradizionali, were in turn introduced with a hypothetical function of registering typical local productions of territories (through Legislative Decree 173/98). However, the relevant lists, which are updated at the regional level, have no legal value. All the more so since PATs are not registered as trademarks, as are De.Co. They can nevertheless live with.
PDO, PGI and De.Co., a peaceful coexistence
The peaceful coexistence of municipal designations with the quality regime for agri-food products-now governed by Reg. EU 1151/12 – is warranted by the different nature of the safeguards offered:
– PDOs and PGIs can only be registered on a narrow category of agri-food products and attest to their specific quality characteristics, linked to their territories of origin,
– the De.Co. pertain to a very wide variety of goods and services and are simply worth attributing to a geographical location. Without claiming to guarantee any qualitative pluses.
The EU Court of Justice has already ruled on the compatibility between national systems of registration of names and territories, on the one hand, and the European quality regime, on the other. The Luxembourg courts have made it clear several times – in the judgments ‘Alicante Nougat’, (2) ‘Warsteiner’ (3) e ‘‘Budvar’ (4) in particular–that the European quality scheme applies to distinguish products by reason of a direct link between one of their particular characteristics, quality or reputation, on the one hand, and origin. Simple geographical designations, on the other hand, imply no relationship between the characteristics of the good and its geographical origin.
‘Made in’, origin, De.Co. Opportunities not to be missed
Identifying ‘Made in’ and origin on the label is essential for enabling consumers to make informed consumer choices, as well as crucial for boosting domestic and international demand. Waiting for Europe to break the deadlock on the OPT (Origin Planet Earth) regulation and effectively follow up on the people’s initiative #EatORIGINal! Unmask Your Food!, voluntarily adopted collective marks express an excellent opportunity, as this writer has been saying for at least fifteen years. (5) It is therefore time for someone in Rome to wake up once in a while, too.
Dario Dongo and Marina De Nobili
Notes
(1) Cf. d.lgs. 267/2000, ‘Testo Unico delle leggi sull’ordinamento degli enti locali‘, Articles 3, 8 and 13
(2) Court of Justice, C-3/91, judgment 10.11.92. The ‘Nougat of Alicante‘ case stems from a Spanish company’s lawsuit against two French operators, who produced sweets using the names of the cities of Alicante and Jijona. In violation of a 1973 agreement between France and Spain that protected the appellations of origin of certain products. These include, precisely, nougat from Alicante and Jijona. The Court of Justice, in contrast to the positions of Brussels, declared the legitimacy of the protection of simple designations
(3) EU Court of Justice, Case C-312/98, judgment 7.11.00. In the pronunciation, known as ‘Warsteiner Brauerei,’ the relationship between reg. EEC 2081/92 and German trademark and unfair competition law. In connection with the sale of beers bearing the name of a German city(Warsteiner), but brewed 40km away. The Luxembourg courts found the national rules compatible with EU law because they did not imply a link between the quality of the product and its origin
(4) EU Court of Justice, C-216/01, judgment 18.11.03. Based on a bilateral agreement between Austria and Czechoslovakia, dating back to 1976 but still valid, the use of Czech names was to be reserved exclusively for products made in that country. The Czech brewery Budéjovický Budvar has therefore obtained a ban on the sale of ‘American Bud‘ beer in Austria. The Court assessed the provisions of the A-CZ Agreement to be compatible with European law, as the former referred protection only to geographical citations
(5) Cf. Dario Dongo, ‘Food labels and advertising, principles and rules‘ (Edagricole-Il Sole 24 Ore, Bologna, 2004)
Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE - GIFT - Food Times) and Égalité.
Graduated in law in Trento, she follows a master's degree in food law at Roma Tre. She is passionate about food and wine, she is between culture and tradition.
