On Thursday 31 March, the European Commission is expected to adopt a proposal for a regulation which aims, among other things, to increase the use of geographical indications throughout the EU, “for the benefit of the rural economy”, according to a draft text obtained by EUROPE.
The proposal also aims to ensure the effective protection of intellectual property rights (IPR) in the Union, including efficient registration processes, in order to reward producers fairly for their efforts (see EUROPE 12915/12).
These two general objectives are detailed in six specific objectives:
- to improve the enforcement of geographical indication (GI) rules to better protect IPR and better protect GIs on the Internet, including against bad faith registrations and uses in the domain name system, and to combat counterfeiting;
- to streamline and clarify the legal framework to simplify and harmonise the procedures for applying for new names and amending terms of reference;
- to contribute to making the EU food system more sustainable by integrating specific sustainability criteria (on a voluntary basis);
- to empower producers and producer groups to better manage their GI assets and encourage the development of structures and partnerships within the food supply chain;
- to increase correct market perception and consumer awareness of GI policy and EU symbols to enable consumers to make informed purchasing choices;
- to ensure the protection of traditional food names in order to better promote and preserve traditional products and production methods.
An agency is involved. The option chosen by the Commission for this reform is to strengthen the management structures for the evaluation of GIs, by involving an existing agency in the registration procedure.
While assessment at national level would remain the responsibility of the Member States, an agency would provide technical assistance to the Commission during the examination of applications (for the protection of an agricultural product) and objections at EU level.
This agency is the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), which is based in Alicante. In addition, a GI advisory board could be established and managed by the EUIPO.
At the last Agriculture Council meeting on Monday 21 March, Spanish Minister Luis Planas said that the final evaluation of GIs should be kept within the Commission’s services. Spain had also requested that the new regulatory framework should not include mandatory sustainability requirements in GI terms of reference.
Link to a draft proposal: https://aeur.eu/f/10a (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)