Foodlaw-Reading
Dr David Jukes, The University of Reading, UK
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Commission consultation, 28 October 2020
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Revision of the EU geographical indications (GIs) systems in agricultural products and foodstuffs, wines and spirit drinks A copy of this draft document is available on this site (click on image). Note that the feedback period is from 28 October 2020 to 25 November 2020. For more details, see: EU geographical indications scheme (revision). |
The folowing is the initial section of the document:
Context
Geographical indications (GIs) identify products having characteristics or reputation due to natural or human factors linked to the place of origin. GIs are protected as intellectual property rights (IPR) to promote fair competition by preventing bad-faith uses. GIs as permanent form of IPR, place special responsibilities on the national and EU authorities, in particular to ensure that the legal title to GIs is secured forever – documentation and decisions never expire. GIs guarantee authenticity to consumers, differentiate these products on the market, and are shown to secure higher-value sales and exports.
GIs are intellectual property rights recognised internationally since 1883. They have been protected in steps in the EU from the 1970s (wine GIs) to 1989 (spirit drinks GIs) and to 1992 (agricultural products and foodstuffs GIs, including fishery and aquaculture products). The EU GI system secures producer’s rights and value added of their products, both in the internal market and in the international context.
In 2020, all EU GIs, registered under 4 different Regulations, were integrated under a single register, eAmbrosia, recording in total 3295 GIs and 197 applications for GI. The EU has 34 bilateral agreements with third countries, protecting 1593 non-EU GIs with an additional 751 non-EU GIs under consideration. These agreements also protect EU GIs in the partner countries – some 35 000 instances of GI protection around the world.
The Traditional Speciality Guaranteed (TSG) scheme was adopted in 1992 and is designed to valorise traditional products and production methods. The scheme protects the product name, however it does not give IPR protection. The scheme was reformed in 2012, increasing the scope of protection to prevent ‘misuse, imitation or evocation’ and ‘any other practice liable to mislead consumers’, similar to the scope of GI protection. So far, 64 names were registered.
The Commission undertook in the Farm to Fork Strategy to strengthen the legislative framework of GI schemes, to improve the schemes’ contributions to sustainable production, and to strengthen the position of farmers and producer groups of GIs. This initiative is included in the Commission Work Programme 2021 under REFIT initiatives, linked to the European Green Deal. In addition, the upcoming IP Action Plan calls for improving the protection system for geographical indications to make it more effective.
Council Conclusions on the Farm to Fork Strategy welcomed a better integration of sustainable development into European quality policy, and invited the Commission to reaffirm the relevance and importance of European quality schemes and to strengthen the legislative framework on geographical indications.
In parallel to this initiative, the Commission is also considering the creation of an efficient and transparent EU GI protection system for non-agricultural products. This would enable the EU to fully benefit from the opportunities offered by the international system of the Geneva Act for the international registration of appellations of origin and geographical indications managed by World Intellectual Property Organisation.
