The Court of Justice of the European Union has been referred to by the German Federal Court (BGH) for a preliminary ruling on the following question on the interpretation of Article 1 of the Commission Regulation (EC) No 583/2009 of 3 July 2009 on entering a name in the register of protected designations of origin and protected geographical indications (Aceto Balsamico di Modena [PGI], OJ L 175, 4.7.2009, 7):
Does the protection of the entire name ‘Aceto Balsamico di Modena’ extend to the use of the individual non-geographical components of the term as a whole (‘Aceto’, ‘Balsamico’, ‘Aceto Balsamico’)?
This comment critically examines the questions submitted and the topics affected by them.