On 27 February, the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the EU submitted suggestions for the drafting of several important articles in the text on geographical indications for agricultural products, including the tasks to be entrusted to the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) in the examination of applications for protection.
According to this text, obtained by EUROPE, the architecture of the initial proposal will be maintained, despite the divergences between Member States on the powers to be conferred on the EUIPO (see EUROPE 13125/15).
However, some of the tasks entrusted to this agency will be reduced. The EUIPO will be responsible for examining applications for registration and will have to give an opinion to the Commission. Provisions are also to be made on the Union’s GI register (with a role for the EUIPO) and on the alert system (the EUIPO will set up and manage an information and alert system on domain names).
The European Commission will be in charge of the procedures for opposition (to applications) and cancellation of these applications for GI protection.
To date, the EUIPO has processed more than 1,700 cases on behalf of the Directorate-General for Agriculture (DG AGRI).
The Swedish Presidency hopes to bring the EU Council to a common position on the text by the end of June. The Spanish Presidency of the Council, which starts on 1 July, hopes to bring the EU Council and the European Parliament to a compromise on this GI reform before the end of 2023.
Link to the Swedish EU Council Presidency’s suggestions: https://aeur.eu/f/5jf (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)