"In the light of the information provided by Germany and following appropriate scrutiny, the Commission cannot conclude that the registration of the name ‘Gentse azalea’ would be contrary to Articles 2 and 3 of Regulation (EC) No 510/2006. Germany claims that the delimited geographical area in the application is wider than the town of Ghent, that there is no link between the claimed characteristics of ‘Gentse azalea’ and the geographical area and that no use of the name is made.
Evidence provided in the application shows that there is production of ‘Gentse azalea’ in the delimited geographical area also outside the boundaries of the city of Ghent, and labels proving use of the name in trade are also part of the application. The application for registration is based on proved reputation of the name ‘Gentse azalea’ for pot plants. Germany indicated that registration of the name ‘Gentse azalea’ as a protected geographical indication would jeopardise the existence of products legally on the market by providing a competitive advantage (marketing advantage) to azalea producers in the geographical area compared to producers in other areas.
No evidence was shown that the name ‘Gentse azalea’ is used for trade for pot plants produced outside the area, neither that it is a registered trademark or is protected as a name of a plant variety. In addition, the name ‘Gentse azalea’ has already been used in the market for a significant period of time. In the light of the above, the name ‘Gentse azalea’ should be entered in the ‘Register of protected designations of origin and protected geographical indications’. The specification and summary are modified to make clear that the name ‘Gentse azalea’ is used for pot plants".
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