# C_2020161EN.01003101.xml

| 11.5.2020 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 161/31 |
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11.5.2020

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 161/31

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Request for a preliminary ruling from the Bundesgerichtshof (Germany) lodged on 3 February 2020 — Hengstenberg GmbH & Co. KG v Spreewaldverein e.V.

(Case C-53/20)

(2020/C 161/40)

Language of the case: German

Referring court

Bundesgerichtshof

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: Hengstenberg GmbH & Co. KG

Defendant: Spreewaldverein e.V.

Questions referred

| 1. | In the procedure for a non-minor amendment of the specification, can any actual or potential — provided that it is not entirely implausible — economic effect on a natural or legal person be sufficient to establish the existence of the legitimate interest, within the meaning of the first subparagraph of Article 53(2), in conjunction with the first subparagraph of Article 49(3) and the second subparagraph of Article 49(4), of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012, (1) that is necessary for the purposes of an opposition to the application or an appeal against the favourable decision on the application? |
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1.

In the procedure for a non-minor amendment of the specification, can any actual or potential — provided that it is not entirely implausible — economic effect on a natural or legal person be sufficient to establish the existence of the legitimate interest, within the meaning of the first subparagraph of Article 53(2), in conjunction with the first subparagraph of Article 49(3) and the second subparagraph of Article 49(4), of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012, (1) that is necessary for the purposes of an opposition to the application or an appeal against the favourable decision on the application?

| 2. | If Question 1 is answered in the negative:
  In the procedure for a non-minor amendment of the specification, does a legitimate interest within the meaning of the first subparagraph of Article 53(2), in conjunction with the first subparagraph of Article 49(3) and the second subparagraph of Article 49(4), of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 lie (only) with operators that produce products or foodstuffs comparable to those of operators for which a protected geographical indication is registered? |
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2.

If Question 1 is answered in the negative:

In the procedure for a non-minor amendment of the specification, does a legitimate interest within the meaning of the first subparagraph of Article 53(2), in conjunction with the first subparagraph of Article 49(3) and the second subparagraph of Article 49(4), of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 lie (only) with operators that produce products or foodstuffs comparable to those of operators for which a protected geographical indication is registered?

| 3. | If Question 2 is answered in the negative:






  a) | As regards the requirements governing a legitimate interest within the meaning of the first subparagraph of Article 49(3) and the second subparagraph of Article 49(4) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012, must a distinction be drawn between the registration procedure under Articles 49 to 52 of that regulation, on the one hand, and the procedure for amending the specification under Article 53 of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012, on the other, and, |
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3.

If Question 2 is answered in the negative:

a)

As regards the requirements governing a legitimate interest within the meaning of the first subparagraph of Article 49(3) and the second subparagraph of Article 49(4) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012, must a distinction be drawn between the registration procedure under Articles 49 to 52 of that regulation, on the one hand, and the procedure for amending the specification under Article 53 of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012, on the other, and,

| b) | in the procedure for a non-minor amendment of the specification, does a legitimate interest within the meaning of the first subparagraph of Article 53(2), in conjunction with the first subparagraph of Article 49(3) and the second subparagraph of Article 49(4), of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 therefore lie only with producers that produce or specifically intend to produce products in the geographical area which comply with the product specification, so that ‘non-local’ operators are automatically excluded from the outset from claiming a legitimate interest? |
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b)

in the procedure for a non-minor amendment of the specification, does a legitimate interest within the meaning of the first subparagraph of Article 53(2), in conjunction with the first subparagraph of Article 49(3) and the second subparagraph of Article 49(4), of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 therefore lie only with producers that produce or specifically intend to produce products in the geographical area which comply with the product specification, so that ‘non-local’ operators are automatically excluded from the outset from claiming a legitimate interest?

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(1)  Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 November 2012 on quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs (OJ 2012 L 343, p. 1).

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