Guidance

Change or cancel a traditional term for a wine product in the UK

Change or cancel a UK registered traditional term for a wine product and how to appeal a decision.

You can change or cancel a traditional term used to protect a wine product if you own or are responsible for it.

Change a traditional term

You can apply to change the:

  • category under which the traditional term is registered
  • language in which the traditional term is registered
  • wine product category or categories with the traditional term

See the applicant’s guide for more detail on traditional terms and wine product categories.

Email ukgiapplications@defra.gov.uk to discuss a change.

Consultation period

If the competent authority decide your application to change a traditional term is valid they will publish it on GOV.UK.

If your reasons are not acceptable, the competent authority will tell you why. You can resubmit your application with the necessary amendments.

Interested parties will have 2 months from the date of publication to consider the change and raise an objection. The competent authority will decide if an objection is valid and give you 2 months to respond.

Decision and right to appeal

The competent authority will approve your change request if:

  • no objection was made at consultation stage
  • an objection was not accepted
  • agreement was reached and only minor changes were required

The competent authority can make the final decision where agreement could not be reached between you and the person making the objection.

The competent authority will tell you if your change request was successful or not, before it publishes the results.

If your change request is rejected, you can appeal against the decision.

Cancel (or remove) a traditional term from the register

A traditional term can be cancelled from the register if:

  • the competent authority of the home country or professional body request it
  • it does not comply with the terms of the definition
  • it does not maintain the conditions of its use

If you own or are responsible for the wine product with the traditional term you want to cancel, you should ukgiapplications@defra.gov.uk to discuss this.

Consultation period

If the competent authority is satisfied your request to cancel a traditional term is valid they will publish it on GOV.UK.

The competent authority will tell the applicant of the traditional term of your request to cancel it if the reasons are valid. They will have 2 months to make any comments. You will be told of their comments and can respond within a further 2 months.

If either party misses the deadline, the competent authority can reject either response.

Decision

If the competent authority thinks your request to cancel, or anyone else’s request, is valid, it can suspend the cancellation process from progressing further to make a decision.

The competent authority will tell other parties who requested a cancellation how they may be affected.

If the competent authority decides to cancel the traditional term and remove it from the UK register, it will close the cancellation process and tell all involved parties.

Decision and right to appeal

If there are no objections, the competent authority will remove the traditional term from the UK register.

Anyone with a legitimate interest can appeal against this decision if they can show they are affected.

Updates to this page

Published 31 December 2020

Sign up for emails or print this page