"Greek Yoghurt": what you think it means

Back in late July of this year, the jiplp weblog published this piece by Leigh Smith on the ongoing litigation in before the courts of England and Wales in Fage v Chobani. This litigation may well determine, for years to come, the right of traders in yoghurt to deploy the adjective "Greek" in relation to their product.  The current effect of the common law of passing off is to grant relief, through a device called "extended passing off", to any members of a class of business who share the goodwill in what is essentially a descriptive term.  Is "Greek Yoghurt" such a term?

The jiplp weblog ran a sidebar poll as to what readers of this blog thought the words 'Greek Yoghurt' meant. That poll, which is entirely non-binding and has no evidential value or judicial sanction, is now closed. It asked the question "What do the words GREEK YOGHURT mean to you?"  Your responses were as follows, there being 152 respondents:

A yoghurt that is thick, creamy and made in accordance with a specific formulation 54 (35%)

A yoghurt that is thick and creamy 38 (25%)

A thick, creamy yoghurt made in Greece according to a specific formulation 35 (23%)

Any thick, creamy yoghurt that is made in Greece 13 (8%)

Any yoghurt that is made in Greece 12 (7%)

Remarkably, some 60% of respondents would not assume that a product called "Greek Yoghurt" comes from Greece.  However, 23% of respondents, or nearly a quarter, would expect "Greek Yoghurt" not only to come from Greece but also to be a particular type of yoghurt -- which can be verified by inspection -- and to be produced by a specific process, this being something that cannot easily be verified by the domestic consumer at the point of purchase.