The German Federal Patent Court has on 17 February 2009 overturned a decision of the German Patent and Trade Mark Office (DPMA) and decided that the Bavarian sausage speciality 'Münchner Weißwurst' does not fulfill the requirements to qualify as a Protected Geographical Indication. By way of background information: it appears that the term "Münchner Weißwurst" is usually translated into English as Bavarian veal sausage, however its literal translation is 'Munich white sausage'.

The decision means that a sausage may now also be called "Münchner Weißwurst" when is has not been produced in Munich itself. The Federal Patent Court left open whether the terms 'original' or 'genuine Münchner Weißwurst' (Original bzw. Echt Münchner Weißwurst) would qualify as Protected Geographical Indications.


The decision can be retrieved in its voluminous entirety of 58 pages by clicking here (in German)
More information on Weißwurst can be found here.