Padron Pepper Pickle

Now known as a mainstay of sharing menus around the world, the humble Padron pepper has come a long way from its origins in the municipality of Padron in North-West Spain.

It comes as no surprise that the region has sought protection for the dish as part of the EU “protected designation of origin scheme”, or PDO (essentially a special type of trade mark which can only be used by food producers from a genuine area associated with the product in question).

Background

Antonio Fernandez, mayor of Padron, recently got into a spot of bother with local farmers after attempting to licence the “Padron Pepper” brand wholesale. In a case that went all the way to the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), the farmers argued that the mayor’s actions were a unilateral attempt to control what can be marketed as a Padron pepper without referring to the very people involved in raising the crop.

The EUIPO has just ruled in favour of the farmers, finding that only those peppers grown within carefully defined geographical limits can be described under the tagline “authentic peppers of Padron”.

Briffa comment

This case is a timely reminder that the traditional ‘word’ and ‘logo’ trade marks are not the only type of trade marks in existence and that there are a number others (not just PDOs but also trade marks for shape and smell). Here at Briffa, the team benefits from over 25 years’ experience assisting with filing all types of trade marks in nearly every jurisdiction in the world. If you need any further information in this regard please do feel free to get in touch with us via info@briffa.com.

Written by Tom Synott, Associate