Greece won a battle in Japan recently against a large company that produces yogurt under the name ”The Greek Yogurt.”
Greece, in order to avoid negative developments, turned to Japan’s Patent Office, which ruled that the legal use of the trademark “The Greek Yogurt” by Japanese dairy company ”Meiji Co” should be voided
This trademark decision is believed to be of great importance, since the Japanese dairy market is huge, and Meiji Co controls approximately 40 percent of it.
The Japanese dairy company, which has the right to appeal the original decision, has forty days in which to do so.
Although Greek yogurt does not have ”Protected Designation of Origin” status from the European Union — like feta cheese does — Greek authorities would very much like to obtain the coveted ”Protected Geographical Indication” status for this product.
This would protect consumers from misleading information as well as imitation products, which are not produced in Greece in any way, shape or form.
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