French steak knife village Laguiole wins right to name
Laguiole, the French village famous for its steak knives of the same name, has been granted the right to ban companies that are using the name - but are actually located elsewhere - from doing so.
The Aveyron (Occitanie) village has against a Val-de-Marne (脦le-de-France)-based entrepreneur - Gilbert Szajner - who had registered the trademark name 鈥淟aguiole鈥� and was allowing companies to use the name on their knives, even if the products had not been manufactured in the famous French commune.
Often, these products were even imported from outside of France, and had no links to Laguiole itself.
The Court of Appeal in Paris this week cancelled permission for around 20 companies to use the name 鈥淟aguiole鈥�, meaning that they are no longer allowed to stamp the name on their knife blades, or use it in any marketing or literature.
The there was a risk 鈥渢hat the average consumer would believe that these products were originally from the said commune鈥�.
The judges used the word 鈥渇raud鈥�, and said the selling of the village name to others amounted to a 鈥渟trategy to deprive the commune and its administrators of the use of the name Laguiole鈥�.
Mr Szajner, his son, and their company Laguiole have been ordered to pay 鈧�50,000 to the village in moral damages, and 鈧�20,000 each in legal fees.
The ruling marks the end of a 20-year battle by the village, as Mr Szajner first registered the name for use by outside companies in 1993.
Mayor of Laguiole, Vincent Alazard, : 鈥淲e are rediscovering the possibility of using our own name, that they had taken from us!鈥�
