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Aldi did not comment on the process, the Champagne Association made the legal dispute public
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Daniel Schäfer / imago images
After years of litigation, French champagne manufacturers have prevailed against Aldi Süd before the Munich Higher Regional Court: According to the judgment, the type of ice cream previously sold by the supermarket chain must not be called "Champagne Sorbet" if it does not taste like champagne.
Accordingly, the name of the frozen ice cream took advantage of the reputation of the protected designation of origin »champagne«.
The judges see this as misleading, as stated in the published decision.
The Aldi product had "no taste mainly caused by the ingredient champagne".
Tasting was no longer possible
The question of taste was discussed extensively in the course of the process - because a tasting was no longer possible due to the expiration date in 2014.
The French plaintiffs had argued that the dominant aroma of the ice cream was pear, "followed by sugar, citric acid and a touch of alcohol".
The ECJ set the decisive criterion in 2017: According to this, the name of a food violates a protected designation of origin "if the food does not have a taste as an essential property, which is mainly caused by the presence of this ingredient in its composition".
The Aldi sorbet did contain champagne, but that was obviously not enough to guarantee the required aroma.
The OLG did not allow a revision, since the BGH and the ECJ had already dealt with the case and the question of taste.
The OLG did not name the plaintiffs and defendants, but the champagne association Civic had made the process public.
The association's lawyers see a signaling effect for similar cases: "This also applies to other popular terms that are protected as geographical indications or designations of origin," said lawyer Carola Onken from the Munich law firm Klaka.
Aldi Süd did not initially comment.
hba / dpa