From concept to legislation: the evolution of EU regulation on geographical indications for industrial and craft products

This thesis examines the new European Union regulation on geographical indications for industrial and craft products. Geographical indications are intellectual property rights. They identify a good with specific characteristics linked to the territory of origin and can help consumers identify authentic products, ensure fair competition for producers and protect quality and integrity of traditional products, crafts or processes.Until 2023, there was no EU-wide mechanism to protect the qualities attributed to specific local skills and traditions relating to non-agricultural products, such as ceramics, glassware, clothing, jewellery, furniture and knives. In some Member States there are national rules providing protection, but these differ in many respects. Non-agricultural producers who wish to protect an indication of geographical origin throughout the EU had to seek separate protection in each Member State in which this option is available. In 2019 the EU agreed to the Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement. It covers GIs for both agricultural and non-agricultural products. The European Commission has been called on to create a regulatory framework for the protection of geographically industrial and handicraft products. The aims of the initiative was the fulfillment of the EU obligations under the Geneva Act and the regulation uniformity within the EU borders and the consequent creation of an internal market. The starting point of this research is the definition of geographical indications. The second and third chapters of the thesis analyze why and how the new regulation on geographical indications for industrial and craft products was born. The last chapter explains the Regulation EU 2023/2411 in detail: the requirements for a product to be registered, the protection, registration, modification and cancellation procedure.