Professor Sir Robin Jacob addresses the International Wine Law Association

Professor Sir Robin Jacob, Sir Hugh Laddie Professor of Intellectual Property Law at UCL Laws and Director of the UCL Institute of Brand and Innovation (IBIL), was invited to speak at the 33^rd Annual Meeting of the International Wine Law Association (AIDV). The conference took place in Kelowna, in the Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada, between 29 September and 1 October 2023.

Since 1987, AIDV’s international conferences have dealt with all legal issues relevant to wine and the wine sector, including intellectual property matters. Professor Jacob was invited to participate in the 'Dialogue with a judge' session. Stephen Stern, Vice-Present of the AIDV's Executive Committee took the opportunity to question Sir Robin on the controversial topic of EU protection of Geographical Indications (GIs), including wine designations such as Champagne, against ‘evocation’. Professor Jacob’s discussion reviewed the traditional protection of GIs against deception in the UK under rules against 'passing off', the steady expansion to non-deception-based protection through EU regulations, the recent proposals by the EU Commission to extend protection, and the role that GIs have to play in trade deals.

More information

• Further details about the conference and its programme can be found here.