[ Rules of uses ]

Article 1

Property Right and Accreditation

1.1. According to the article 3 of the statutes of C.E.LIÈGE- CONFÉDÉRATION EUROPÉENNE DU LIÈGE , (lines c) and f)), one of the aims of the confederation is to “search and divulge the proper means to develop the use of cork and of its products.” Its Board of Directors has therefore decided to create and register the Cork mark (hereunder designated “Mark”). This decision was ratified at the general Assembly’s meeting of C.E.LIÈGE in 29 April 1999 , in Tempio Pausania.

1.2. The Board of Directors (hereunder designated “Council”) is responsible for the management of the Mark according to the measures of article 29 of C.E.Liège by- laws (lines a), d), e) and g)). However to carry out this task, the Board of Directors may assign the Secretary General or any other representative chosen among the active members of CE.Liège.

Article 2

CE.LIÈGE Obligations

Comply and make sure others comply with the measures of the current regulations
Assure total and absolute confidentiality of all the documents included in the process of nomination;
Respect all the applicable legislation in the country where the mark is registered;
Defend and promote the mark having in view the interests of consumers, users, public and private entities;
Set up plans for the diffusion of the mark,
Promote the diffusion of the mark among the groups and entities ultimately interested in obtaining the Certificate;

Article 3

Obligations of the franchisee

The obligations of the franchisee (certificate holder) company are as follows:

Use of the mark depends on the specific authorisation of the Council or the entity occasionally delegated by the Council, that must issue a certificate, but always under the measures of the present regulation.
In order to be allowed to use the mark the franchisee company will have to sign an agreement (contract for licence of use) with C.E.Liège.
Accept C.E. LIÈGE as the lawful owner of the Mark, in which resides all the rights established by the current regulation.
Comply with the conditions stipulated by C.E.Liège and respect the legal conditions attached.
Make sure that companies that hold the mark are companies whose activity is related to manufacture, finishing and/or trading of cork products that use cork as raw material, according to the requirements specified in the present document (article 5) and are legally established under the legislation of the countries where they have their head- office.

Article 4

Requirements for the use of the mark

4.1 According to the current regulations, the Council may authorise the use of the mark to the following cork products:

The companies that are under the CERTIFICATE OF CONFORMITY ESTABLISHED IN THE AMBIT OF THE «SYSTECODE- Accreditation System in Conformity with the International Code of Cork Manufacture Practices», and whose activity is included in the list below;
Preparation and/or trading of corkwood planks ;
Manufacture, finishing and trading of natural cork stoppers;
Manufacture, finishing and trading of colmated natural corks;
Manufacture, finishing and trading of agglomerate corks;
Manufacture, finishing and trading of agglomerate corks and of washers of natural cork used for sealing still wines;
Manufacture, finishing and trading of composite cork stoppers;
Manufacture, finishing and trading of multi-piece cork stoppers;
Manufacture, finishing and trading of added-top cork stoppers;
Manufacture, finishing and trading of washers made of natural cork;
Manufacture, finishing and trading of granulated cork;
Manufacture, finishing and trading of agglomerate corks with washers of natural cork used for sealing sparkling, semi-sparkling and gasified wines.
For other products made of cork, any company wishing to use the MARK shall send a request to the Secretary General of C.E.Liège who is responsible for submitting the dossier and petition to the Council or another entity nominated for that purpose.
The products that hold the mark must be made of cork or have at least 51% (in weight) of that raw material.
As regards article 4.2 and before submitting the dossier to the Council, the Secretary General can ask the opinion of the Technical Committee of C.E.Liège.

Article 5

Concerning the companies certified with SYSTECODE (as referred in point 4.1) the contract that grants authorization for the use of the Mark will be valid for a period of 3 years starting to be in force on the date mentioned in the CERTIFICATE OF CONFORMITY granted in the ambit of the programme SYSTECODE.
For other companies not covered in point 4.1 the contract that grants authorization for the use of the Mark will be valid for at least one year.
Before deciding whether a company has right to use the mark, the Council or the entity delegated by the Council shall consider the following points :
Certification of the company according to the norms of ISO or similar;
Type of products for which the mark will be used ;
The quality of the submission contained in the dossier of the applicant.

Article 6

Conditions of application

6.1 Use of the mark on cork products is only permitted when the conditions stipulated in the present regulations are complied with and is only valid from the date of the certificate issued by C. E. Liège;

6.2 The mark may in no circumstances be used on products that do not respect the preceding regulations nor may it be used on imitation cork materials or products that do not conform with legislation regarding materials in contact with foodstuffs or any other conditions regarding its use.

6.3 In any case covered by the previous article or where there is likely to be a delay, the Secretariat is required to inform the applicant by recorded mail

Article 7

Appeals

7.1 Applicants can lodge an appeal against the Council’s decision within 30 (thirty) days by sending a letter to the President of the Board of Directors of C. E. Liège.

7.2 Requests for Appeal will be considered by a meeting of the Council and decided by a secret ballot of the members present in accordance with the regulations under article 28 of the Statutes and article 1 of the internal regulations of C. E. Liège.

7.3 There is no appeal against the decision of the Council by any other process in particular those from bodies outside the association of C. E. Liège.

Article 8

Right of use with other trade marks

The certificate holder has the right to use the mark in conjunction with other trade marks provided that the marks are applied in different positions in order to avoid any confusion.

Article 9

Infringement of regulations

9.1 In cases where an infringement of the regulations is established or presumed, the Secretariat of C. E. Liège will inform the certificate holder by recorded delivery mail of the situation and demand a response within 20 (twenty) days.

9.2 The reply from the certificate holding company will be submitted to the Technical Committee for its opinion and this will be passed back to the company concerned. In giving its decision, the Technical Committee can make recommendations that the certificate holder must comply with in a specified time.

9.3 If the company refuses to comply with the recommendations within the specified time or if it is shown to be responsible for further infringements, the Council of C. E. Liège will immediately suspend the company’s right to use the mark.

9.4 In applying the previous condition, the Secretariat must inform the Council which may determine a period of suspension or, bearing in mind the seriousness of the infringement, a revocation of the certificate or a minimum suspension of two years.

9.5 In addition to the provisions above, C. E. Liège may oblige the company to indemnify it for any damages or loss. If it is considered necessary, court proceedings may be instituted in the country where the company is situated.

9.6 All costs incurred as a result of such proceedings will be the responsibility of the company concerned from the moment when it is proved that an infringement of these regulations occurred.

9.7 In cases of litigation, these terms and conditions will be subject to the law and determination of tribunals in the country of the withheld certificate holder.