The new European Geographical Indications Regulation: objectives and novelties
by Emanuela Maio
On 13 May 2024, the new Regulation (EU) 2024/1143 on 'geographical indications for wines, spirit drinks and agricultural products, as well as traditional specialities guaranteed and optional quality terms for agricultural products', approved on 28 February, amending Regulations (EU) No 1308/2013, (EU) 2019/787 and (EU) 2019/1753 and repealing Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 entered into force.
The main purpose of this new regulation is to ensure the development of the agri-food sector, which will be achieved by giving producers, acting collectively, the necessary powers and responsibilities to manage the geographical indication in question; by guaranteeing producers fair remuneration and the possibility of investing in the quality, reputation and sustainability of their products; by ensuring that consumers receive reliable information and the necessary guarantees concerning the origin, authenticity, quality, reputation and other characteristics linked to the geographical origin or geographical environment of these products, so that they can easily identify them on the market, including the electronic market (art. 4).
In order to achieve these objectives, the new European regulation introduces several innovations, starting with the strengthening of the protection of GI products both in the physical market and in the online market, the latter being one of the most important, so much so that it provides for the recognition of the protection of geographical indications as invoked in the event of disputes concerning country code Top Level Domain or TLD names referring to a specific geographical area (e.g.: It; Es; Ge, etc.). In this regard, the legislation sets out the obligations of sellers in the online marketplace, defining illegal content as information, promotion and sale of goods that violate the protection of geographical indications; to prevent this, the competent authorities of the Member States will have to issue an order to act against such content, and any person or entity will be able to notify the companies that provide hosting of the presence of such content. This measure will provide greater protection for consumers in the online marketplace by providing them with truthful information and making it easier for them to identify GI products, including in e-commerce. In order to provide protection at a later stage, the Regulation then identifies the authorities responsible for online monitoring of the use of the GI and also indicates how the frequency of monitoring will be assessed, i.e. through risk analysis and the number of reports received from producer groups on compliance with the specification and the information on the label in both the physical and online marketplace.
With regard to labelling, the European legislator, in accordance with the principle of transparency, which implies the obligation to provide information, has also expressly provided for the case where the GI product is used as an ingredient in a processed product, so that only if this presence actually characterises the product in a significant quantity will it be possible to use the GI mark on the label next to the name of the product (Art. 27), provided that: a) the processed product does not contain any other product comparable to the ingredient designated by the GI; b) the ingredient designated by the GI is used in sufficient quantity to confer an essential characteristic on the processed product in question; and c) the percentage of the ingredient designated by the GI in the processed product is indicated on the label. The new regulation has also added the obligation to indicate on the label the name of the producer, with the term "producer" indicating the operator in the chain who has essentially processed the product.
The new European legislation also shows a certain sensitivity to sustainability, in that it provides for the possibility for a group of producers, even a recognised one, to agree on sustainable practices to be followed in the production of the product covered by a geographical indication or in the performance of other activities subject to one or more obligations laid down in the specification (Art. 7) and to draw up and regularly update a sustainability report, based on verifiable information, describing the existing sustainable practices used in the production of the product, the impact of the production method of the product on sustainability and the information necessary to understand how sustainability affects the development, performance and position of the product (Art. 8).
The new European GI Regulation introduces other innovations, such as the strengthening of the role of consortia in the field of protection, which now also includes the function of monitoring the marketing of products in order to prevent damage to the image of the GI and to guarantee the presence of truthful information on the market so that consumers can make an informed choice, and the simplification of the registration procedure for new GIs in the single European register (Article 22).
This brief overview highlights the key points of the new European regulation, namely the strengthening of the role of protection consortia, better protection of these products, simplification of procedures, transparency and sustainability, to which is added the role of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) in the protection of GI products.
Undoubtedly, the European legislator has taken a step forward by attempting to unify the European internal market on the subject of IG, through the exercise of fair commercial practices and a widespread protection regime, which allows for a balance in the business-to-consumer relationship. Implementing and complying with the new European legislation will be a challenge for all actors involved. However, it remains to be seen whether the scope of its real effects in terms of protection corresponds to the intentio legislatoris.