The EU designation of the International Registration No. 1 551 761, consisting of the word "SHINON" with two Chinese characters underneath, must be cancelled for “wines” insofar as it infringes the “Chinon” PDO.

Unsurprisingly, and following an analysis of the goods and signs, the EUIPO Cancellation Division considers that the International Registration is an evocation of the “Chinon” PDO.

The EUIPO found that there was an identity between the goods at issue designated by the trademark and those for which the PDO is protected.

Visually and phonetically, the two terms are also very similar given that the relevant European public will only pronounce the Latin terms. This assumption is reinforced by the evidence submitted by the IR holder, i.e. the label of the bottle of wine on which the trademark is depicted. On this label, the Chinese characters are difficult to perceive because of their silver colour on a white background.

 It should be noted that the wine seems to have been produced for only one vintage, in 2017, on a Californian estate in Napa Valley, a long way from Indre-et-Loire.