A long list of iconic British foods and drinks, which currently enjoy special status under European Union rules, could lose their legal protections when the United Kingdom leaves the bloc. That list includes Cumberland sausage, Cornish pasty, and Scotch whisky, among 60 other types of food and drink.
“When we leave the EU, we will lose the European law which protects such products,” says Iain Connor, a London-based partner at law firm Pinsent Masons who specializes in intellectual property law.
After Brexit, UK producers of these specialist foods won’t enjoy the blanket protections, known as “geographical indications,” they are currently afforded for products sold in EU member states. This will make it tougher for UK producers to make a case against producers elsewhere in the EU who put formerly protected names on their own products in local markets.
Under EU protections, the burden of proof is lower for producers who take legal action against rivals not following the letter of the law. They can simply point to their products’ protected EU status, which already establishes the unique qualities of those products. “The EU rules provided a simple and straightforward mechanism,” Connor says.
Take the example of Melton Mowbray pork pies, which must be made in the town of Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire, have a bow-shaped pastry case, and contain at least 30% meat, among a number of other conditions (pdf). Outside of the EU, a pie producer faces an uphill task if someone on the continent slaps that label on their pies for sale within the bloc. ”If you have to prove that your pies are unique and specific to that area, and the person producing those pies is not entitled to call them Melton Mowbray pies, then it places an incredible burden on the producer who wishes to stop unfair competition,” Connor says.
But it also cuts the other way. An enterprising vineyard in post-Brexit Britain could dub its sparkling wine champagne, although that is probably ill-advised, given that UK courts have ruled in favor of protecting French champagne makers in the pre-EU past under so-called “passing off” laws.
Rules around the use of these names around the world are complicated. It comes down to a number of trade treaties, the most important of which is the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Agreement, which was proposed by the World Trade Organization in 1996. The EU’s protections are seen as one of the most robust legal frameworks globally (pdf).
If the UK leaves the EU, other countries’ producers might soon take advantage of British foods’ weaker protections, meaning we might soon see the likes of:
- Cumberland-wurst
- Jersey Royal pomme de terre
- French Scotch
- Traditional Bramley jabłko pie
- Gloucestershire cidre