Since the European Union and Member States have shared competence in the field of intellectual property (which includes the terms indicating quality products190), in order to enhance Italy’s gastronomic heritage, our legislator has long since established the list of traditional agri-food products (PAT)191, which identifies the processing, preservation and seasoning methods, the use of which has been consolidated over time. According to its latest revision192, as many as 5,639 products are registered as PATs. This therefore indicates attention to the existence of a system for the recognition of traditional products. Although the typology of PAT products is broader than TSG products, the macroscopic numerical difference confirms the serious questions193 as to what interest economic operators actually have in the latter. So, continuing to focus on these entities to get TSGs off the ground is perhaps not the solution, especially considering that they can use the different instrument of the European collective mark194 to highlight to consumers the quality of their product linked to compliance with a specification195. In fact, TSGs appear to be a more appropriate instrument for public purposes, i.e. to protect a common heritage196, consisting of food product names that often Colbert Falletti, the last Marquise of Barolo, that an exceptionally rich and harmonious wine began to be produced in the mid-19th century, destined to become the ambassador of the Piedmont of the Savoy family to courts all over Europe” (Presidential Decree 23 April 1966, GURI 146 of 15 June 1966). 190 Court of Justice, Judgment of 10 November 1992, Nougat de Alicante (or Exportur), cit. In doctrine: V. Rubino, The exhaustive character of the EU regulation on geographical indication of wines following the European Court of Justice judgment Port Charlotte II, in EFFL, 2018, p. 134; B. Calabrese, L’assetto delle competenze europee e nazionali in materia di proprietà industriale e intellettuale con particolare riferimento alle indicazioni geografiche, in Dir Comun & Scambi Intern., 2017, p. 539-591; V. Di Cataldo, Denominazioni e indicazioni geografiche tra registrazione comunitaria e protezione nazionale: made in, IGP e DOP, in Annali italiani del diritto d’autore, della cultura e dello spettacolo, 2016, p. 31-50; N. Coppola, Lo stato attuale della legislazione e della giurisprudenza europea sul tema della competenza con riferimento alle indicazioni geografiche, in Dir. Comun. & Scambi Intern., 2016, p. 353-367. 191 Legislative Decree No. 173, 30 April 1998, art.8, as well as Law No. 238, 12 December 2016, art.12, par. 1, and related ministerial decrees, by which the list of PATs is updated. The inclusion of a product in the national list is not constitutive of any right; any reference to a geographical name does not entail recognition of the product’s origin or provenance from the territory itself. However, once registered, the name of a PAT (including its possible synonym or dialect term) cannot be the subject of a filing or application for registration, within the meaning of the current European Union and national legislation on intellectual and industrial property, unless the forthcoming case law on the aforementioned NERO Champagne case requires reconsideration of this legal framework. 192 MASAF Ministerial Decree No. 101363 of 29 February 2024, carrying the 24a revision of the PAT list. 193 F. Capelli, La tutela delle denominazioni dei prodotti alimentari di qualità, cited above, p.542. 194 Reg. (EU) 2017/1001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 June 2017 on the European Union trade mark (codification), cited above, art.74. 195 F. Capelli, La tutela delle denominazioni dei prodotti alimentari di qualità, cited above, p.538. 196 Court of Justice, judgment of 13 November 2018, “Heksenkaas”, C-310/2017, ECLI:EU:C:2018:899, ruled that the taste of a food product is not protected by copyright under Directive (EC) 2001/29 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 May 2001 on the harmonisation of certain aspects of copyright and related rights in the 361 FOODSTUFF TRADITION PROTECTION
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