Il fenomeno dell’Italian Sounding e la tutela dell’agroalimentare italiano

Italian sounding names cannot be considered as a phenomenon of counterfeiting in strict sense, but rather as an arbitrary reference to the value and quality of Italian products, which is used as a commercial strategy when placing new products on the market. This phenomenon has a relevant impact. First of all, small and medium-sized enterprises suffer a reduction of their internationalisation opportunities. Furthermore, imitations of inferior quality may easily disappoint the consumers’ expectations and dissuade them from buying the authentic product, especially when the cost is higher, then lowering the prices also of raw materials concerning the authentic products. Possible solutions to the problem concern the identification of effective forms of protection for products whose characteristics derive from their geographical origin. Answer at the private law level are offered by the rules concerning the geographical origin of the goods. That means that the EU rules (e.g. EU Regulation 1151/2012 and EU Regulation 1308/2013) concerning the P.D.O., P.G.I. and T.S.G. ensure, together with the regulation of collective brand names, a high level of protection for typical products. At the international level, GIs are legally provided for by the WTO Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).