http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2024/01/eu-regulation-on-geographical.html
The EU Regulation on geographical
indication (GI) protection for craft and industrial products was approved by the Council on 9
October 2023 (IPKat here), entered into force on 16 November 2023 and
will be fully applicable from 1 December 2025. Its purpose is to assist
producers in preserving the heritage of locally sourced craft and industrial
products, allowing them to compete in specific niche markets while maintaining
their local knowledge and culture.
Application process for EU protection of GIs
for industrial and craft products
The Regulation
provides for a two-step application process for registration (Art. 7 of the Regulation). Each Member State shall designate
a competent authority for the national phase of the procedure (Art. 12 of the Regulation). The applicants shall submit their
applications for geographical indications (GIs) to the relevant authorities in
their respective EU Member State for the examination procedure (Artt.
13-16 of the Regulation). The competent authorities shall then forward
the successful applications to the EUIPO for the second step (approval and
evaluation). If a Member State does not have a national system for GIs, the
applicant can request an exemption from the above-mentioned standard procedure.
If the Commission agrees, the applicant can file the request directly through
the EUIPO via a direct registration procedure (Artt.
19-20 of the Regulation).
As regards the
application for registration of the GI, it has to be accompanied by the product
specification (disciplinary) identifying the name to be protected, the
reference product and how it is to be made, including the raw materials to be
used and the processes to be followed (Art. 9 of the Regulation).
On 11 January 2024, Italian Law No. 206 of 27 December 2023 entered into force. It contains specific
provisions aimed at aligning the protection of Italian artisanal and industrial
products in view of the incoming application of the EU Regulation.
The Italian regulatory intervention has thus introduced
the national phase, including the filing of the product specification, thus
guaranteeing as of now protection for Italian artisanal and industrial products
in view of the incoming application of the EU Regulation.
Pursuant to Article 42 (Recognition of typical industrial and craft
products) of the Law, Italy: recognises the value of typical craft and
industrial products traditionally linked to local production methods rooted within
a specific geographical area, promotes their protection as significant elements
of the overall national cultural heritage; ensures that consumers have reliable
information on typical craft and industrial production; supports craftsmen and
producers in preserving production traditions and reputations linked to their
places of origin.
In view of the definition of a uniform
protection system at European level for GIs in craft and industrial products,
the Italian Regions are given the possibility to provide an official recognition
for typical craft and industrial productions already subject to forms of
recognition or protection or for which the reputation and quality are strongly
linked to the local territory. The results have to be transmitted to the Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy (MIMIT), in order to define, with a specific decree,
a uniformly valid and applicable protection regime for the recognition and
protection, at national level, of these typical products.
To enhance the value of typical handicraft and
industrial products and favour their protection processes, Article 43 of the Law allows associations of
produces, operating in a certain geographical area, to adopt a production
specifications (disciplinary) and to submit to the competent Region a
declaration of expression of interest for the purpose of the recognition of
typical handicraft and industrial products referred to in Article 42.
The production specifications (disciplinary)
for typical industrial and handicraft products, containing the minimum elements
set out in Article 45, must be filed by the producer
associations with the chambers of commerce, industry, handicrafts and
agriculture of the relevant territory. In addition, the processing steps of
products shall be certified through blockchain (Art. 47).
Comment
Until recently, GIs for industrial and craft
products were left to the discretion of the Member States. As a result,
divergent standards and mechanisms of protection emerged across the UE. While
some Member States, such as France, established an ad hoc system of
protection for craft and industry products, manufacturers in other Member
States had to resort to alternative mechanisms of protection, including unfair
competition law, or registration of collective trademarks. All this has implied
a certain difficulty, especially for SMEs, in fighting GIs’ infringement,
misuse and reputation. It is expected that things will change with the
Regulation. Some doubts, however, are likely to remain with regard to protection
of GIs and related products in the on-line commerce, both in the UE and in
third countries, against aggressive imitations and parasitic evocations, whose
purpose is mainly to mislead consumers on the real geographical and
entrepreneurial origin of their products.
Photo courtesy
of Antonio D’Agostino
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