“Laguiole” may only be used for knives from Laguiole, says Aix-en-Provence Appeal Court

It seems that the Laguiole saga [covered by The IPKat here, here, here and here] is far from over: the Appeal Court of Aix-en-Provence has recently cancelled the registration of “Couteau Laguiole” (Laguiole knife) as a French geographical indication (GI) because the consumers would be confused as to the knives’ geographical origin.

Background

In September 2022, the French Patent and Trade Mark Office (INPI) registered “Couteau Laguiole” as a GI for knives produced in the French municipalities of Laguiole and Thiers (shown on the map above). This registration was preceded by numerous historical disputes, conflicts with trade marks, legal reforms, and two separate GI applications.

Knife production century in the French commune of Laguiole began in the early 19th century. As demand grew, Laguiole outsourced some production to Thiers, a renowned cutlery centre, in the 1850s. The two communes collaborated closely on Laguiole knife production from at least 1868, as shown by historical evidence submitted to the INPI. Laguiole's cutlery industry halted in 1918 due to World War I casualties, but Thiers continued making Laguiole knives throughout the 20th century.

In 2020, the commune of Laguiole applied for protection of “Couteau de Laguiole” (“Knife from Laguiole”) as a GI. Their application covered solely the area of Laguiole. Producers from the commune of Thiers opposed the application, claiming to have rights to the name. Producers from Thiers filed a parallel GI application, “Couteau Laguiole”, covering both Laguiole and Thiers areas. After successfully securing registration with INPI in 2022, they recently lost their rights in court (no 22/13284).

Ruling

The Aveyron Association of Producers of Knives from Laguiole (Aveyron being the administrative unit to which Laguiole belongs), the municipality of Laguiole, and the French Federation of Industrial and Artisanal Geographical Indications (FFIGIA) initiated lawsuits against “Couteau Laguiole”.

First, the municipality of Laguiole argued that a GI with “Laguiole” in its name must secure a prior authorization from this municipality. The Appeal Court of Aix-en-Provence dismissed this claim: it stated that municipality names are indeed protected as prior rights in trade mark law (Art. L711-3(9) Intellectual Property Code), but not in GI law. Producer associations may freely use it in their GI applications.

Yet, the Appeal Court of Aix-en-Provence agreed with the plaintiffs that consumers would be confused as to the geographical origin of “Couteau Laguiole” as they would not make the connection with Thiers. The Appeal Court relied on a public survey conducted by INPI during the registration stage, whereby the consumers did not link the reputation of these knives with the area of Thiers.

Moreover, opined the Appeal Court, the product protected by the GI “Couteau Laguiole” is not sufficiently defined by the product specifications: these vaguely mention models, universes and families of knives without much detail.

All in all, the Appeal Court found that there was insufficient evidence to prove that “Couteau Laguiole” is characterized by traditional know-how or a reputation which can be attributed essentially to the geographical area defined in the specifications. INPI’s decision to register this GI was thus cancelled by the Appeal Court of Aix-en-Provence.

The three plaintiffs also sued INPI for several procedural errors, a decision on which will be taken in a separate proceeding in 2025.

Perspective

Besides being a new instalment in the Laguiole saga, this ruling also acts as a precursor to the forthcoming registration of EU-wide GIs for craft and industrial products under Regulation (EU) 2023/2411.

Similarly to what occurred in the early days of GIs for wines, spirits and agricultural products, this Kat foresees a surge in litigation over the GIs for craft and industrial products. The Laguiole case shows that even historical evidence may be interpreted differently: were the municipalities of Laguiole and Thiers cooperating together to produce the knives (as argued by Thiers) or were the Thiers producers mere subcontractors, unknown to the general public (as argued by Laguiole)?

In the meantime, the French couteliers should better hurry with the registration, as they only have until December 2026 to convert their French GI into an EU-wide one.