Table of Contents
What is it about?
Regulation 2023/2411 of 18 October 2023 establishes directly applicable GI protection for artisanal and industrial products at EU level and aims to strengthen the position of producers of this type of product in order to protect them throughout the EU against counterfeiting and to encourage them to invest in these products. It also aims to improve the visibility of genuine artisanal and industrial products on the market, thereby serving the interests of consumers.
What is an artisanal or industrial product?
Regulation 2023/2411 defines ‘craft products’ as those produced either entirely by hand or with the aid of manual or digital tools, or by mechanical means, provided that the manual contribution is an important component of the finished product. ‘Industrial products’ are those produced in a standardised way, including serial production and by using machines.
A wide variety of products could therefore benefit from the protection conferred by a geographical indication: natural stones, woodwork, jewellery, textiles, lace, cutlery, glass, porcelain, hides and skins, etc.
However, they must meet the following criteria:
- the product must originate from a specific place, region or country;
- its quality, reputation or other characteristics must be essentially attributable to its geographical origin; and
- at least one of the production stages must take place in the defined geographical area.
Registration
A geographical indication grants an exclusive right of use to the group of producers of the product concerned. To obtain this protection, the name must be registered. To this end, a specification must be filed explaining the conditions under which the geographical indication may be used (the geographical area, the required production method, evidence of the product's quality in relation to the geographical environment, etc.).
The application must be submitted by a group of producers. These indications are not open to individual appropriation but serve the collective interest. All those who meet the objective conditions of the specifications will therefore have the right to use the protected indication.
The registration procedure is carried out in two phases. Firstly, in the national phase, the competent national authority examines the application and takes a decision. If the application is accepted, it is then forwarded to the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), which carries out a further examination in the second phase and takes the final decision on recognition of the requested name.
Temporary national protection for a geographical indication may be granted from the date when an application for registration is filed with the EUIPO; it expires on the date when a decision on the application for registration is adopted or when the application is withdrawn.
On 2 December 2026, the specific national protection of geographical indications for craft and industrial products will cease to exist. Pre-existing names to be registered and protected under Regulation 2023/2411 must be communicated to the European Commission by this date at the latest.
