Territory conquest for Geographical Indications for Craft and Industrial Products

The European Parliament has just adopted a regulation aimed at strengthening the protection of craft and industrial products bearing geographical indications within the European Union.

Geographical indications are labels that designate products whose characteristics are closely linked to a geographical location where at least one stage of their production takes place. Geographical indications can be found on a wide range of products, from wines, spirits and foodstuffs to craft and industrial products.

To illustrate the latter, let’s cite examples such as “Limoges Porcelain“, “Perpignan Garnet” and “Aubusson Rug” in France, or “Murano Glass” in Italy.

Until now, craft and industrial products could only be protected by a geographical indication if the national laws of the member states so provided. This was the case for 16 member states, offering protection limited to the national territory.

Given the success of the EU system for protecting Geographical Indications for wine, spirit and agricultural products and foodstuffs, it has become imperative to consider such an expansion of Geographical Indications for Craft and Industrial Products.

On September 12, 2023, this regulation was officially adopted.

The objectives of the regulation are to enhance the value of the intangible assets of operators and companies, and to offer consumers better information to make informed purchasing decisions.

The Geographical Indications Protection for Craft and Industrial Products at the EU level will be granted subject to compliance with three cumulative conditions.

1. The product must originate from a specific place, region or country,
2. Have a reputation, quality or other defining characteristic, and
3. Include at least one stage of production carried out in this geographical area.

With regard to the registration of these Geographical Indications, the regulations provide for two registration processes.

• An “indirect” registration process, divided into two phases. A first, national registration phase, during which national and local authorities will carry out a preliminary examination. A second, European phase, during which the European Union Intellectual Property Office will register the Geographical Indications.
• And, a “direct” registration process for member states without a national evaluation procedure, where the application is filed with the EUIPO (European Union Intellectual Property Office).

From now on, Geographical Indications for Craft and Industrial Products registered by the EUIPO will provide protection throughout Europe and on the Internet, as this protection will extend to domain names.

It should also be noted that the creation of this regulation is an essential step towards a possible extension of protection at international level. Indeed, it will enable producers to benefit fully from the international framework, as protection could be extended to all signatory states of the Geneva Act, to which the EU acceded in November 2019.

In this way, we can already look forward to future international protection of artisanal and industrial know-how.

– Cloé DESSEMON, legal intern at MARK & LAW