The Swedish Presidency of the EU Council is asking the Member States to decide, during the meeting of the Special Committee on Agriculture (SCA) on 20 February, on various options for the tasks of the EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) in relation to geographical indications for agricultural products (see EUROPE 13112/12).
In a document dated 10 February, the Swedish Presidency of the EU Council considers that “some uncertainty persists” within the EU Council and the European Commission as to the new functions to be attributed to this agency in the regulation under negotiation on geographical indications.
Delegations are asked to decide between three options:
- EUIPO shall not play any role regarding geographical indications for agricultural products, wine and spirit drinks (exclusive competence of the Commission);
- administrative tasks for this agency (management of the Union registry and a domain name information and alert system);
- a role for the EUIPO in assisting the Commission with applications for registration (preliminary assessment, with the final decision on applications remaining with the Commission).
This last option is largely based on the practice of the last five years. In essence, the EUIPO has so far handled more than 1,700 cases on behalf of the Directorate-General for Agriculture (DG AGRI).
Link to the Presidency note: https://aeur.eu/f/5b2 (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)