On 16 November 2023, the Regulation on the Protection of Geographical Indications for Craft and Industrial Products entered into force, twenty days after its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
The Regulation lays down rules on (i) the registration and protection of, and controls in relation to, geographical indications designating craft and industrial products with a given quality, reputation or other characteristic linked to their geographical origin, (ii) geographical indications entered in the international register established under the Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement on Appellations of Origin and Geographical Indications (‘the Geneva Act’) administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
Definition of Craft and Industrial Products
Craft and industrial products’ means products: produced either entirely by hand or with the aid of manual or digital tools, or by mechanical means, whenever the manual contribution is an important component of the finished product; or produced in a standardised way, including serial production and by using machines.
Article 4, Regulation (EU) 2023/2411 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 October 2023 on the protection of geographical indications for craft and industrial products and amending Regulations (EU) 2017/1001 and (EU) 2019/1753.
Requirements for a Geographical Indication
In order for the name of a craft or industrial product to qualify for protection as a geographical indication, the product shall comply with the following requirements: (i) the product originates in a specific place, region or country, (ii) the product’s given quality, reputation or other characteristic is essentially attributable to its geographical origin; and (iii) at least one of the production steps of the product takes place in the defined geographical area. Nonetheless, Products that are contrary to public policy shall be excluded from geographical indication protection.
Article 6, Regulation (EU) 2023/2411 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 October 2023 on the protection of geographical indications for craft and industrial products and amending Regulations (EU) 2017/1001 and (EU) 2019/1753.
