A Universal Vegetarian Symbol Intro - Consumers - Industry - Press - Organisations

Regulations for the collective mark "V" to mark vegetarian goods, products and services in Europe I. General The collective mark "V" is an excellent way to profile European Vegetarianism, as propagated by the European Vegetarian Union (EVU). To do so, the label requires loyal, professional support in contacts with industry, consumers and press. The collective mark "V" will enable the vegetarian organisations to position themselves as consumer organisations by closing up the ranks and acting as an interlocutor for manufacturers, producers and services. II. Owner of the mark The European Vegetarian Union (short EVU) is the owner and bearer of all rights to the collective mark "V". The conditions of these regulations are equally binding for the EVU and all licensees. III. Form of the collective mark "V" The collective mark "V" is protected in all sizes and colours. It has the following shape: Additional words like "Recommended by the EVU" or similar expressions in the respective languages are allowed. For goods and products that do not contain any ingredients of animal origin (as indicated in clause IVa, sub 4) the word "vegan" may be added. IV. Extent of the collective mark "V" The collective mark "V" is protected in the following European countries: Austria, Benelux, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland. The collective mark "V" labels the following goods, products, services and activities of organisations: a) Goods and products The collective mark "V" labels goods and products that are suitable for vegetarians. The Collective mark "V" can only be used for products that do not contain any ingredients or substances made from slaughtered animals, for instance no flesh, meat, gelatine, leather, bones, or fats from slaughtered animals. Eggs must be obtained from hens not raised in factory farming. The origin of the eggs has to be confirmed in writing. Products, which have to be marked as genetically modified, must not bear the "V" label as well. If the collective mark "V" is used for products which do not contain any substances of animal origin, the word "vegan" can be added to the label. b) Services The collective mark "V" labels services suitable for vegetarians, in particular restaurants, hotels, guest-houses, cafeterias, snack bars etc. A restaurant, that applies for the collective mark "V" must continuously offer at least one complete vegetarian menu which should be changed as often as the ordinary menu. In addition to possible vegetarian dishes which are available on the regular menu-card (soups, salads, etc.), the restaurant must offer at least two dishes, which are acceptable for vegetarians. The waiters and staff should all know the differences between vegetarian, vegan, and raw-food menus, and be able to categorise accordingly all drinks and dishes offered on the menu. Similar conditions are valid for hotels, guest-houses, cafeterias, snack bars etc. c) Activities of organisations The entitled societies (as indicated in clause V, sub 1) are allowed to use the collective mark "V" for their own activities (logo of the society, printed matter, publicity matter etc.) Individual members of the EVU may use the collective mark "V" in agreement with the EVU secretariat. V. Entitled organisations Apart from the EVU itself, the member organisations of the EVU are entitled to use the collective mark "V" after having signed a licensing agreement with the EVU. The member societies on their part enter into contracts with firms and service companies on the basis of these regulations. The collective mark "V" may be granted to firms that distribute vegetarian goods or manufacture vegetarian products such as foods and drinks, cosmetics and toiletries, clothes and shoes, catering products and household goods. It also applies to restaurants, guest-houses, hotels etc., which serve vegetarian meals. The EVU acts as control authority of its member societies. VI. Procedure European vegetarian organisations (members of the EVU), who want to use the collective mark "V", conclude a licensing agreement with the EVU and bind themselves to follow the regulations laid down in this agreement. A firm or service company who wants to use the collective mark "V", must contact and come to an agreement with a national EVU member organisation and file up an application for the use of the collective mark "V". The appropriate member organisation is determined by the place of registered office of the firm, which is responsible for the labelling or where the restaurant, hotel etc. is located. A list of all ingredients and manufacturing processes has to be presented to the national vegetarian organisation before using the collective mark "V". The national vegetarian organisation decides - in consultation with the EVU officer in charge if necessary - whether a product may bear the collective mark "V" or not. At the request of the manufacturer, the national vegetarian organisation and EVU may bind themselves to handle confidentially the information about ingredients and manufacturing processes. In countries where no EVU member organisations are established or where EVU member organisations do not want to or are not able to deal with the collective mark "V", the EVU reserves the right to make agreements on its own behalf. VII. Payments The entitled vegetarian organisations (as indicated in clause V, sub 1) charge a fee from the companies for the use of the collective mark "V". The national vegetarian organisations pay 10% of this sum to the EVU. The licence fee for the producer or firm should be based on a percentage of the annual turnover of the product concerned, and may be subject to negotiation. EVU recommends charging as a rule at least 500 DM (250 EURO) + VAT per year for each product, carrying the V-Label. An application fee of 50 DM (25 EURO) is applicable. The licence fee for a restaurant, hotel or guest-house should be based on a percentage of the annual turnover and may be subject to negotiation based on a minimum of 150 DM (75 EURO). The use of the collective mark "V" is free of charge for the internal use (as indicated in clause IV, sub c) of the member societies of the EVU. VII. Controlling All licensees of the collective mark "V" bind themselves to check carefully (or have checked by a professional institute), whether the conditions for the use of the collective mark "V" are fulfilled before granting the use of the collective mark "V" to a company. After the permission to use the collective mark "V", the company has to reveal every change to the respective licensee. The company itself is obliged to accept sampling without prior notice. IX. Sanctions The irregular use of the collective mark "V" represents a violation of the collective mark and may be prosecuted by the owner of the mark not only on the basis of the regulations and contracts but also on the basis of trademark laws. In the case of a violation of the agreement, the owner of the mark has the right to cancel the agreement without notice. Moreover he has the right to demand the immediate elimination of the defects. If the licensee (i.e. the national vegetarian society which is entitled to use the collective mark "V") incurs harm through misuse of the collective mark "V", he may prosecute the misuse on the basis of competitive laws, however not of trademark laws. If a producer, firm or restaurant uses the V-Label without permission or does not fulfil his/her duties as listed in clause V, a sanction of up to 10 000 DEM (5000 EURO) may be imposed. In addition the permission to use the collective mark "V" for other products of the same producer may be withdrawn, even if other products fulfil the criteria stipulated for this label. If the manufacturer, firm or restaurant continues to use the collective mark "V" after the first admonition, a fine of up to 100 000 DEM (50 000 EURO) may be inflicted. Further legal action is reserved. X. Endorsement Once the EVU member organisations reach an agreement concerning the collective mark "V", those organisations should also endorse that label, for instance by communicating information about the labelled products to press and consumers. Once a product is labelled and as long as the ingredients and manufacturing processes do not change, there is no reason for the EVU member organisation to refuse the endorsement. XI. Promotional material The basic material to promote the label is made available by EVU and can be elaborated in collaboration with the local vegetarian organisations. The EVU assures to promote the labelled products by - Communication the actual list of labelled products on request - Announcing each new labelled product in EVU-News and on the EVU web site May 25, 1999