EU rejects Hungary wine-naming suit against Slovakia
08 November 2012, 23:26 CET
(BUDAPEST) - The European Court of Justice on Thursday rejected a lawsuit brought by Hungary against Slovakia over the disputed naming of wines from the Tokaj region along the two countries' border.
Hungary argued that Slovakia should not have been allowed to change the language in which wines from the region are inscribed in the European Union's E-Bacchus database of protected trademarks of origin and wine region names in 2010.
The change could damage the reputation of Hungarian Tokaj wine and its producers, Hungary argued.
But a statement from the Court of Justice said it had ruled that the change was technical only and did not affect the trademark protection of wine produced on the Hungarian side of the border.