In the absence of a final court ruling based on article L. 431-6, a decree in the Council of State, issued after a public enquiry carried out in accordance with the code de l’expropriation pour cause d’utilité publique and consultation with directly interested professional groups, may delimit the geographical area of production and determine the qualities or characteristics of a product bearing an appellation of origin on the basis of local, fair and constant usage.
The publication of the decree by the Conseil d’Etat prevents the exercise of the action provided for in article L. 431-6 for the future.
This decree may also prohibit the use, on products other than those benefiting from the appellation of origin or on the packaging containing them and the labels, commercial papers and invoices referring to them, of any indication likely to cause confusion as to the origin of the products.