Brussels, 06/10/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 6 October, the European Parliament backed its judicial affairs committee in its desire to extend EU-wide protection against counterfeiting to manufactured goods and handicraft products (see EUROPE 11389).
With their adoption by an overwhelming majority of the draft resolution by Virginie Rozière (S&D, France), MEPs call on the European Commission to propose legislation to extend EU-wide protection of geographical indications (GI) to include regionally and locally manufactured goods and handicraft products, such as Laguiole knives and Ghent lace. It will be for producer associations and chambers of commerce to apply for registration of geographical indication protection, by means of the “most efficient, simple, useful and accessible” mechanism that keeps costs and red tape to a minimum.
“Extending EU-wide protection of geographical indications would be beneficial not only for consumers, but also for tourism, culture, employment and trade. It is now for the European Commission to take up the case, and I hope it will make the proposals soon, already as part of the Commission's internal market strategy expected later this autumn”, said Rozière in a press release.
At present, there is no unitary GI protection for non-agricultural products at EU level. However, 15 EU member states have specific national legislation on GI protection for non-agricultural products resulting in different degrees of protection in the member states. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)