“Serious concerns have been raised about the transfer of responsibilities from the European Commission to the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO)”, says a report dated 7 June by the French Presidency of the EU Council on the late May proposal to revise the geographical indications system.
The French Presidency of the Council has produced a report summarising the main comments made by the delegations in the Council Working Party on Geographical Indications (see EUROPE 12944/15).
On the new tasks of the EUIPO regarding the examination of files, the report notes that the serious concerns relate to doubts about the expertise of this Alicante-based agency, the fact that the registration of GIs in the agricultural sector would be financed by trademark applicants, the fear that in the long run agricultural producers might have to pay a fee for the registration of a GI, and the importance of specifying the delegated tasks in the basic act and not in delegated acts. The areas in which the transfer of responsibilities to the EUIPO has been most contested are the examination and publication of applications and the management of the opposition procedure in the Union. The proposed transfer in other areas was more favourably received (management of the register, etc.)
Furthermore, the proposal to clarify the protection against revocation of geographical indications on the basis of case law has generated reservations from several delegations who would prefer not to legislate on this notion and instead rely only on case law.
The proposed protection for internet domain names has met with mixed reactions, according to the report.
Link to the report: https://aeur.eu/f/1yv (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)