LEX VINI

TTB Approves San Luis Obispo Coast (SLO Coast) Viticultural Area

Last week was an exciting week for producers and consumers of California Central Coast wine. On Wednesday, March 9, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (the “TTB”) published a final rule establishing a new “San Luis Obispo Coast,” or “SLO Coast,” American Viticultural Area (“AVA”). The SLO Coast AVA (identified in orange below) […]

TTB Proposes New Oregon AVA, Cites Wine Blogs as Support

Winegrowers vying to become the 18th American Viticultural Area in Oregon have reached an important milestone. On February 26, 2014, a new notice of proposed rulemaking was published in the Federal Register, soliciting comments regarding the proposed “The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater” AVA. The comment period is open until April 28, 2014, and comments can […]

USPTO Finds Trademark CHAMPARTY Not Confusingly Similar to CHAMPAGNE Appellation

Comite Interprofessionel du Vin de Chamagne (CIVC) and Institut National de l’Origine et de la Qualite (INAO) who under French law are charged with controlling, promoting and protecting the common law certification mark CHAMPAGNE, opposed the registration of the mark CHAMPARTY for “alcoholic beverages except beers.”  CIVC/INAO argued that the marks CHAMPAGNE and CHAMPARTY are […]

Chateauneuf-du-Pape Syndicat Denied by USPTO in Attempt to Protect Appellation

Like a bottle of Chateauneuf-du-Pape I’m fine like wine when I start to rap We need body rockin’, not perfection Let me get some action from the back section   ~ “Body Movin’” by The Beastie Boys   The Beastie Boys cannot be pleased and there undoubtedly will be no body rockin’ at the Syndicat Des […]

WIPO Symposium on Geographical Indications Wraps Up in Bangkok

The biennial World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Worldwide Symposium on Geographical Indications wrapped up today in Bangkok, Thailand. The 2013 Symposium was hosted by the Thailand Department of Intellectual Property. The two-day Symposium featured eight educational sessions with over thirty speakers from across the world discussing issues related to the protection and enforcement of geographical […]

Insight into TTB’s Approach to AVAs: The Inwood Valley AVA

Since the establishment of the Augusta AVA in 1980, ATF, and now TTB, has varied its approach to executing its legislatively delegated task of establishing American Viticultural Areas (AVAs).  In early 2011, TTB amended the AVA rules entirely.  With the recognition of the Inwood Valley AVA, effective as of October 15, 2012, we gain insight […]

Proposed Naches Heights AVA an Exception to Recent TTB Stated AVA Policy

On May 24, 2011, TTB published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) proposing to establish the Naches Heights American Viticultural Area (AVA) in Yakima County, Washington.  The Naches Heights AVA would be located within the Columbia Valley AVA.  TTB is asking for comments on the NPRM on or before July 25, 2011.  The proposed AVA is […]

TTB Proposed Rulemaking Published for Coombsville AVA in Napa Valley

On May 24, 2011, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) published the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) proposing to establish the Coombsville viticultural area within Napa County and the North Coast and Napa Valley AVAs.  TTB is accepting comments on the NPRM until July 25, 2011.  Comments may be submitted online, by […]

West Sonoma Coast: Investing in Marketing over AVA Recognition

Vintners and growers from the far western coastal areas of the Sonoma Coast AVA have recently launched a marketing program to promote the “WestSonomaCoast” area.  The group has determined, at least for now, that the politics and bureaucracy surrounding the AVA formation process do not best serve the group’s goal of distinguishing the far west […]

WTO Reports Continued Progress on Multilateral Register for Geographical Indications for Wines and Spirits

In the WTO’s continuing efforts to move forward the 13-year old agenda on a multilateral register for geographical indications for wines and spirits, the WTO reported last week that a small working group representing the divergent positions of the various member countries had completed two additional sections of “emerging text” for the register proposal.  “Emerging […]

Some Movement at WTO on Multilateral Register for Geographical Indications for Wines & Spirits

In what is being touted by the World Trade Organization (WTO) as the first attempt to produce a single draft text for a Multilateral Register for Geographical Indications for Wines and Spirits pursuant to the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), representatives from WTO member countries met this month and put together […]

TTB Issues Final Rule on New Procedures for Recognizing AVAs

On January 20, 2011, TTB published the long awaited Final Rule on its controversial Notice No. 78, which proposed substantial changes to the AVA petitioning and formation process.  Notice No. 78 was published on November 20, 2007; the same day that the agency published Notice No. 77, proposing to establish the Calistoga AVA.  Perhaps the […]

Changes to Boundary of Santa Maria Valley AVA Effective on January 28, 2011

On December 29, 2010, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) approved the expansion of the Santa Maria Valley AVA in California’s San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties by approximately 19,000 acres.  The expansion comes along the AVA’s current Southern border in Santa Barbara County.  Proponents of the AVA indicated that the expansion was […]

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