News & Resources

September 12, 2022

The European Commission published a proposal to revise geographical indications (GIs) legislation that provides producer groups with the opportunity to voluntarily include sustainability criteria going beyond the requirements for GI product specifications under EU law.

September 12, 2022

CCFN continues in its work steering the International Trademark Association (INTA), the world’s leading voice on trademark topics.

April 27, 2022

The Consortium for Common Food Names (CCFN), U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) and National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) today welcomed the U.S. Trade Representative’s prioritization in this year’s Special 301 Report of the importance of preserving U.S. food and beverage producers’ market access rights in the face of persistent efforts by the European Union (EU) to misuse geographical indications (GIs) and create non-tariff barriers to trade in markets around the world.

January 7, 2022

A judicial ruling has determined that “gruyere” is a generic style of cheese that can come from anywhere. The decision reaffirms that all cheesemakers, not just those in France or Switzerland, can continue to create and market cheese under this common name.

December 8, 2021

Over the first two quarters of 2021, the Consortium for Common Food Names (CCFN) and a coalition of other U.S. dairy stakeholders aggressively defended the generic status of the term “gruyere” in the U.S. market against efforts by the Swiss and French gruyere Consortiums to monopolize use of the term.

December 8, 2021

In a testament to years of CCFN advocacy efforts to elevate the issue of GI abuse to U.S. government officials, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative highlighted the issue in its annual National Trade Estimate (NTE) report on tariff and non-tariff barriers to U.S. exports. The issue of common names was included in USTR’s press statement on the report, with the agency viewing the issue as a priority concern.