European MEPs approve new rules for Geographical Indications for craft and industrial products
The approved new EU rules (12 September 2023) are aimed at safeguarding the geographical indications (GI) for craft and industrial products, inspired by the existing rules for agricultural products.
These new rules extend protection to locally renowned non-food products such as lace, glass, natural stones, jewellery or porcelain across the EU and globally. The new scheme, already agreed on by the European Parliament in May, was adopted almost unanimously with 616 votes in favour, 9 against and 6 abstentions.
The goal of this regulation is to harmonise differing national systems, increase consumer awareness and enhance the competitiveness of producers.
The new scheme at EU level and the EUIPO’s role
The legislation foresees a regular two-step registration, starting at national level and followed by an examination of the application by the EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) at EU level. Member states may request to be exempted from setting up a national registration procedure. In those cases, the EUIPO will be in charge of the whole procedure Finally, the Member States will have one year to inform the Commission and the EUIPO which of the names already protected nationally should also be registered and protected at EU level.
Main points of agreement
The agreement reached between the Council and the Parliament includes the following:
· guarantees the coherence with GI protection rules for agricultural products by applying the concept of ‘protected geographical indications’ (so-called ‘PGIs’), which ensures that geographical indications are attractive for producers maintaining a strong link between the product’s characteristics and its geographical origin
· provides for efficient control and verification procedures for the protection of GIs with a system based on self-declaration as the default procedure that member states reinforce with controls
· ensures that the protection of craft and industrial GIs also applies to the domain name space and the online environment
· facilitates procedures for the registration of GIs, in particular for SMEs, while ensuring a high level of legal protection with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) playing an important role on the registration procedures for craft and industrial GIs
Next steps
The Council must now formally approve the agreement. The Regulation will then enter into force twenty days after being published in the EU Official Journal and its application is scheduled to commence two years from that point.
August 2023
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