New EU Regulation for Non-Agricultural Geographical Indications
The European Parliament has given its green light to a new regulation designed to safeguard non-agricultural products’ geographical indications1 (the “Regulation”). The new rules on geographical indications are particularly relevant for craft and industrial products manufacturers.
I. Background
Geographical indications are a form of intellectual property rights granted to products strongly linked to a specific geographical area. Within the European Union (EU), geographical indications protection had traditionally been limited to wines and spirit drinks, as well as agricultural products and foodstuffs, including aromatised wines and it consists in: (i) PDO – protected designation of origin (food and wine), (ii) PGI – protected geographical indication (food and wine), (iii) GI – geographical indication (spirit drinks).
The new rules provided under the Regulation aim to protect geographical indications for a wide array of non-agricultural products, including natural stones, woodwork, jewellery, textiles, lace, cutlery, glass, porcelain, and hides and skins. Its primary objectives are to harmonize national systems, improve consumers’ awareness in relation to the authenticity of products, and strengthen competitiveness. The Regulation enters into force on the 16th of November and most of its provisions shall apply from the 1st of December 2025.
EU and non-EU manufacturers of non-agricultural products involving local and regional specificities, such as, in Romania, the Horezu ceramics, should consider investigating their eligibility for protection under the Regulation.
II. Summary of the Regulation
A. Potential applicants for protection granted by geographical indications
As a rule, a producer group, meaning any association, irrespective of its legal form, mainly composed of producers working with the same product, may lodge an application for the registration of a geographical indication under the Regulation.
However, a single producer may also apply for protection, subject to complying with the following conditions:
(a) the person concerned is the only producer willing to apply; and
(b) the geographical area concerned is defined by a particular part of a territory without reference to property boundaries and has characteristics that differ appreciably from those of neighbouring geographical areas, or the characteristics of the product are different from the characteristics of products produced in neighbouring geographical areas.
In the case of a product that originates in a cross-border geographical area, several applicants from different Member States, from Member States and third countries, or from third countries may lodge a joint application for the registration of a geographical indication for such a product.
B. Products that may benefit from protection
In order for the name of a craft or industrial product to qualify for protection as a geographical indication, the product must comply with the following requirements:
(a) the product originates in a specific place, region or country;
(b) the product’s given quality, reputation or other characteristic is essentially attributable to its geographical origin; and
(c) at least one of the production steps of the product takes place in the defined geographical area.
Craft and industrial products mean products: (a) produced either entirely by hand or with the aid of manual or digital tools, or by mechanical means, whenever the manual contribution is an important component of the finished product; or (b) produced in a standardised way, including serial production and by using machines.
C. Registration process
The registration process consists of two phases, commencing with a national-level application (subject to opposition) and subsequent assessment by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) at the EU level. Member States have the option to request an exemption from establishing a national registration process, in which case the EUIPO will oversee the entire procedure.
Geographical indication applications for craft and industrial products originating from countries outside the European Union must be submitted directly to the EUIPO. These applications will be considered only if they already enjoy protection in their country of origin.
Once a product achieves non-agricultural geographical indication status, it will be recognized as an intellectual property right, and its utilization may be regulated through various means. For example, it shall be protected against any direct or indirect commercial use of the geographical indication in respect of products not covered by the registration, where those products are comparable to the products covered by the registration.
