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Tequila is a spirit that stems from the distillation of blue agave.
There are three kinds of Tequila:
- Reposado: has a minimum of 3 months of aging.
- Añejo: has at least 1 year of aging.
- Extra añejo: at least 3 years of aging.
¡Read this post to learn more about Mezcal!
Below, we include the Desperados Case, concerning the Geographical Indication in Europe.
Desperados Case
The demands of the CRT
In 2017, the Tequila Regulatory Council (Consejo Regulador del Tequila, CTR), filed two lawsuits against Heineken.
It was filed into a court in France and in The Netherlands arguing "an improper use and unauthorized use word Tequila" in their beer Desperados.
The facts:
The company Heineken used to commercialize the beer Desperados included the sentence "flavoured with Tequila".
The legal context:
Since 1997, the denomination "Tequila" is protected in the territory of the European Union after the Mexico - EU Free Trade Agreement was signed. This includes clauses on the Mutual Recognition and Protection of the Denominations within the Spirits Sector.
Learn here how to get a certificate of origin.
The demands of the CRT were based on the ruling in 2919 of the European Commission recognizing Tequila as a spirit with geographical indication (Regulation (UE) 2019/335)). By doing this, the Commission appointed the first product highest protection in the European Union.
What is a Geographical Indication?
Geographical Indications were created in 1716 by Cosimo III of Medici in order to protect Chianti.
A geographical indication identifies a product as originary of the territory of a country, region or location, and linking them to the unique outcome stemming from their soil, weather, craft, etc. (in EU Law, they're protected under Regulation (CE) 110/2008.).
In EU Law, geographical indications are registered by the European Commission and cannot be generic. So as to say, they cannot become a common denomination of a product.
This means that no beverage made following the same process as tequila, but outside the Mexico, cannot be called Tequila.
The territory within Mexito that can use the name Tequila is constituted by the States of Tamaulipas, Nayarit, Michoacán, Jalisco, and Guanajuato.
Moreover, the only companies that can produce Tequila must be certified by the CTR and should be included in its lists..
Furthermore, the protection of geographical indications forbids the use of words such as "style", "made of", "aroma of", or similar, despite they state the origin of the product.
This means that it is not possible for a ie. German-made beverage to include the word "Tequila", even though it states that it is "Tequila style", "made in Germany", or "Aroma of Tequila".
Arguments of the parties:
The CTR consideredthat Desperado infringed the rules of the denomination of origin. In fact, according to the CRT, Desperados contained "adulterated" tequila in order to add a new flavour to the beer.
On its side, Heineken argued that the word "Tequila" on Desperado's label refers to the flavourings that contain 75% of tequila aroma. Furthermore, the word "Tequila" was used together with the word "aroma", which from their pint of view, pretended not to deceive the consumers.
The Sentences
In 2018, the French tribunals accepted the CTR's petitions, while the Dutch jurisdiction favoured Heineken.
The EU Commission opened up an investigation to know if Heineken used adulterated Tequila in order to make its beer, or if its mixture is legal and the word "tequila" is allowed.
The Commission would've released its conclusions by February 2nd. However, the CTR and Heineken agreed to an extrajudicial settlement beforehand.
The protection of Tequila outside Europe
On the international level
Tequila is registered in the International Tequila Registry at the World Intellectual Property Organization (an UN institution that has 193 State Members).
T-MEC
TMEC (the free trade agreement between Mexico, Canada, and the United States), recognizes the protection of the denomination of origin. This Treaty contains Annex III specifically stating the protection of denominations of origin of alcoholic beverages. This was a gigantic step as the US did not recognize denominations of origin before this treaty.
Due to the Treaty, the US and Canada can sanction products that are called Tequila but cannot prove their origin.
Another set of Treaties
Some of the Treaties that Mexico has concluded where the geographical denomination of Tequila is included are:
- - Economic Partnership Agreement, with Japan.
- Free Trade Agreement - G3, with Colombia,
- Free Trade Agreement with Israel.
- Free Trade Agreement with Chile.
- Free Trade Agreement with Uruguay.
- Free Trade Agreement with the North Triangle (Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras).
There are several Treaties privileging the denomination of origin. So if you want to sell Tequila or products made with it, bear in mind that all of the requirements fulfill with such a certificate.
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