The Consortium for the protection of Gorgonzola PDO cheese has obtained an important victory against ‘cybersquatting’ as well as unfair practices on the web. From now on the renown Italian blue cheese will officially get the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) recognition, that is the reassignment of the “gorgonzola.blue” domain name.
Click here to discover the authentic Gorgonzola PDO on Italianfood.net platform
At the base of the complaint versus the former assignee of the disputed domain, the Consortium had placed the circumstance that, since 1970, it has been carrying out “an activity of control for the full respect and application of laws in Italy and abroad where the denomination of origin ‘Gorgonzola’ is protected”. Moreover, Gorgonzola cheese obtained the inclusion in the list of PDO products from the European Union already in 1996. A further aggravating circumstance was the fact that the assignee of the disputed domain name, used it for PPC (Pay Per Click) links referring to food products, including cheeses, of third parties.
END OF ADDITIONAL DUTIES IN THE USA
Together with other Italian food and beverage products, Gorgonzola PDO will benefit from the suspension for five years of additional duties in the US market. For the dairy sector, the imposition of those duties, including the additional +25% applied by the Trump administration, was an additional problem in 2020. Italian exports to the USA had dropped by -17% with an overall loss of 70 million euros.
However, already since March 2021 after the first temporary suspension of additional duties, Italian cheese exports to the United States have grown by +39% (source: Consortium for the protection of Gorgonzola PDO cheese). With 27,727 wheels exported in 2020, the USA is the third top non-EU destination market for Gorgonzola PDO exports.