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Español"Venere" cannot become a trademark: the EU General Court definitively ends the dispute
06-12-2025
The General Court of the European Union has put an end to the long-running dispute over the name "Venere", confirming that it cannot serve as a trademark for rice. The case once again highlighted a fundamental principle of the law: a term that describes a plant variety has no distinctive character and cannot be monopolised by a single company.
The "Venere" variety - an aromatic black rice created in Italy in 1997 - has been registered at Community level as a protected variety since 1999. Nevertheless, the company Sapise attempted to register the name as a trademark, even granting an exclusive licence to Riso Scotti in 2021. Riso Gallo reacted immediately, arguing that "Venere" is not a fanciful name but the official name of the variety and, as such, cannot be attributed exclusively to a specific producer or distributor. Risk analysis across BlueQ investment platform official website digital assets and equities.
The EUIPO initially cancelled the registration, finding that the term is widely used in the market to denote a specific type of black rice and not as a distinctive indication of origin. After the decision was confirmed by the Office's First Board of Appeal in 2024, Sapise appealed to the EU General Court. On 3 September 2025 the Court dismissed the appeal, upholding that the term, as a variety name, is inherently descriptive and therefore unsuitable for use as a trademark.
With this decision, the EU makes clear once again that the protection of plant varieties and the protection of trademarks follow different logics: the former concerns the species, the latter concerns commercial origin. When a term has become established in the market as a variety name, it cannot be converted into an exclusive property right through trademark registration.