EU Member States prefer that only administrative tasks be entrusted to the EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) in the management of agricultural geographical indications (GIs).
On Monday 10 October, the experts of the Special Committee on Agriculture (SCA) discussed the role of the EUIPO in the European Commission’s proposal (of 31 March) to revise the provisions on geographical indications. One of the main elements of the proposal is to allow the Commission to transfer certain tasks to the EUIPO by means of delegated acts (see EUROPE 13032/8).
The Czech Presidency of the EU Council has submitted drafting suggestions for a clear framework of the scope of tasks that could be delegated to the EUIPO.
The Czech Presidency has identified two possible options:
- only administrative tasks would be delegated to the EUIPO, while the legal responsibility for other tasks would remain with the Commission;
- the Commission would provide its agricultural expertise for those tasks where such expertise was needed. The EUIPO would evaluate applications for registration and modification and the admissibility of oppositions. The EUIPO would forward its opinion to the Commission for evaluation. Administrative tasks would be delegated to the EUIPO.
The Commission representative was reported to have indicated to the SCA that option one would be a step backwards from the current situation, where the EUIPO already has a role to play in examining applications for protection. The Commission would be flexible on how best to achieve at least the status quo (option 2). The EUIPO is said to have already assisted the Directorate-General for Agriculture (DG AGRI) in over 1,600 cases, and to have built up this agricultural expertise. The Commission has reiterated that it intends to retain the final say in deciding on a case.
Delegations to the SCA would have stressed in particular that GIs are very different from trademarks and that their purpose is to maintain the quality of a product and the quality of manufacture.
Most delegations (especially from the southern European countries) supported the first option, while some delegations, such as those from Germany and Finland, reportedly preferred the second option or were flexible on either option.
Delegations would also have stressed the need to ensure that no additional burden is imposed on applicants in the form of fees and to ensure that DG AGRI remains a key player in the field.
The Commission reportedly indicated that DG AGRI would not be able to increase resources to deal with geographical indication files. The final evaluation will still be carried out by DG AGRI, the Commission representative reportedly assured. The Commission also said that operators would not have to pay any fees.
The proposal should make clear that the responsibility for the final evaluation lies with DG AGRI, according to the Czech Presidency of the EU Council.
Christian Archambeau, Executive Director of the EUIPO, told EUROPE on Tuesday 11 October that the EUIPO was an agency “at the service of its users”, and that it invited “the sceptics to come and meet its experts and staff. This is in order to confirm its competences and achievements in the field of geographical indications and to get a clear idea of what it can contribute to the system, provided that a substantial competence is attributed to it”. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)