T.M.E.P. § 1210.08
Wines and Spirits
Executive summary:
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1210.08 Wines and Spirits
Section 2(a) of the Trademark Act, 15 U.S.C. 1052(a), prohibits the registration of a designation that consists of or comprises "a geographical indication which, when used on or in connection with wines or spirits, identifies a place other than the origin of the goods and is first used on or in connection with wines or spirits by the applicant on or after [January 1, 1996]." This provision was added by the Uruguay Round Agreements Act, implementing the Trade Related Intellectual Property ("TRIPs") portions of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade ("GATT"). It applies only to geographic indications that were first used in commerce on or after January 1, 1996, one year after the effective date of the legislation implementing GATT. This provision does not apply to designations used on or in connection with beer.
The examining attorney must refuse registration under §2(a) of any geographical designation that was first used in commerce on or in connection with wines or spirits on or after January 1, 1996, if it identifies a place other than the origin of the goods.
Section 2(a) is an absolute bar to the registration of these geographical designations on either the Principal Register or the Supplemental Register. Neither a disclaimer of the geographical designation nor a claim that it has acquired distinctiveness under §2(f) can obviate a §2(a) refusal if the mark consists of or comprises a geographical indication that identifies a place other than the origin of the wines or spirits.