Podcast

Season 5, Episode 5. Pairs Well With Fame, Fraud, and a Hint of Lawsuit

A bottle of wine carries more than fermented grapes. It embodies intellectual property worth billions in global markets. From the tapas bars of Barcelona to the vineyards of Australia, wine names spark international incidents with real-world consequences.

When a small Spanish bar named “Champanillo” (little champagne) faced the wrath of the powerful Comité Champagne, it revealed how geographical indications function like luxury brand protections. No actual champagne was sold, yet the European Court of Justice ruled the mere evocation of champagne’s prestige violated EU law. Similarly, Belgian customs officials destroyed thousands of Miller High Life beer cans for daring to call themselves “The Champagne of Beers” despite using the slogan for over 120 years.

These battles extend beyond Europe’s borders. Croatian winemakers watched helplessly as their traditional Prošek dessert wine, despite being nothing like sparkling Prosecco, was blocked from registration after Italian opposition. Meanwhile, Australia and the EU reached a trade negotiation impasse over whether “Prosecco” refers to a grape variety (as Australians argue) or a protected place name (as Europeans insist). The dispute demonstrates how a single wine term can become geopolitical leverage worth potentially billions in trade.

Luxury producers fight equally fierce battles, with Château Petrus winning a €1.2 million judgment against a cheaper wine called “Petrus Lambertini,” while even Prince’s estate successfully challenged an Ohio winery’s “Purple Rain” wine. Counterfeiters face serious consequences too, fake Lafite bottles distributed through nearly 2,000 supermarkets resulted in an $11 million judgment, while Europol’s “Operation Epigraphy” dismantled a multinational fake Rioja network spanning three countries.

Whether through trademarks, geographical indications, certification marks, or patents (as seen in the competitive synthetic cork industry), wine intellectual property serves as the legal foundation for an industry that blends agriculture, culture, commerce and law. What’s inside the bottle is only half the story, the rest lies in who has the right to tell it.

Listen now to understand why every sip comes with a side of intellectual property law, and why the words on a wine label can be worth millions in courtrooms worldwide.

Zodiac Season, Litigation Rising – Intangiblia™

Can you copyright a horoscope, enhance a century-old tarot deck and claim protection, or assign your stage name and lose it in court? We open the year by charting the legal sky where creativity, belief, and branding intersect—and sometimes collide. From a syndicated astrologer’s claim that near-identical forecasts kept running without a license, to a software company’s short-lived effort to assert control over historical time zone data, we unpack the crucial line between ideas and expression, facts and creativity, public domain and protectable derivative work.We also step into the studio with the icons. The Walter Mercado saga reveals how a personal brand can be transformed into a trademark owned by someone else, with lasting consequences for the artist behind it. Along the way, we explore what separates simple restoration from original creativity in tarot publishing, why databases of raw facts remain free for all, and how small wording choices in daily horoscopes can carry real legal weight. The thread tying it all together: the cosmos is shared; the way we package it is not.Expect practical takeaways for creators, publishers, and entrepreneurs: register original writing, document design decisions, start from public-domain sources rather than competitors’ upgrades, and read every clause before assigning names, logos, or likenesses. If you’re building an astrology app, launching a zodiac product line, or reviving classic esoteric art, this deep dive will help you navigate trademarks, copyrights, and contracts without dimming your creative light.Enjoy the episode? Follow the show, share it with a friend who loves law or the stars, and leave a quick review to help others find us. What boundary do you think should exist between shared culture and private ownership? Tell us—your take might shape a future episode.Send us a textCheck out "Protection for the Inventive Mind" – available now on Amazon in print and Kindle formats. The views and opinions expressed (by the host and guest(s)) in this podcast are strictly their own and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the entities with which they may be affiliated. This podcast should in no way be construed as promoting or criticizing any particular government policy, institutional position, private interest or commercial entity. Any content provided is for informational and educational purposes only.
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