The General Court of the European Union has rejected two pleas for annulment launched by the Foundation for the Protection of the Traditional Cheese of Cyprus named Halloumi, regarding two cases it had launched against the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) and Cypriot company Papouis Dairies.
The Foundation had submitted these two pleas for annulment in September 2021, asking for the annulment of decisions issued on April 29th 2021 .
The General Court rejecting all four parts of the plea regarding both cases as unfounded, and ruled that the pleas must be rejected and, consequently, the action must be dismissed in its entirety.
The Foundation can seek an appeal against the decision, limited to points of law, before the Court of Justice of the EU in the next two months, according to a press release.
The Foundation for the Protection of the Traditional Cheese of Cyprus named Halloumi was created in 2013 by the Republic of Cyprus and the Cyprus Dairy Products Manufacturers Association.
The first case (?-558/21) referred to the registration of the figurative sign “fino Cyprus Halloumi Cheese”. The second case (?-565/21) referred to the registration by the same company of the figurative sign “Papouis Halloumi Papouis Dairies LTD PAP since 1967”.
The General Court is also expected to issue decisions in the spring regarding two separate appeals by the Foundation against companies in Bulgaria and Sweden regarding the use of the terms BBQLOUMI and GRILLOUMI.
Source: Cyprus News Agency