Yesterday, 23 April 2024, Regulation (EU) 2024/1143 of the European Parliament and of the Council amending the regime on geographical indications (GIs) in the European Union was published in the EU Official Journal. Miguel Angel Medina of the MARQUES GI Team reports.

This regulation repeals Regulation (EU) 1151/2012 on the quality of agricultural products and foodstuffs, which regulated geographical indications (protected designation of origin (PDO) and protected geographical indication (PGI)) and traditional specialities guaranteed (TSG), as well as the use of certain optional quality terms, and replaces it with the new regulation.

It also partially amends the regimes of the (EU) regulations on quality wine (Regulation 1308/2013) and spirit drinks (Regulation 2019/1753).

Its publication marks a crucial point in the updating and extension of the scope of protection of quality marks that was recently brought about by Regulation (EU) 2023/2411 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 October on the protection of geographical indications of artisanal products, which introduced for the first time a GI protection scheme for these products at EU level and amended Regulations (EU) 2017/1001 and (EU) 2019/1753.

Key features

Among the new features of the regulation approved yesterday, the presence and relevance of the sustainability in all its aspects (environmental, social and economic) based on a voluntary system is notable. This is in line with current trends in IP law and other branches of law that regulate production and trade.

Other noteworthy aspects are the contribution to better protection and explicit legal protection for GIs in relation to domain names and on the internet. This had been demanded in recent years given the discriminatory and inferior situation in which Gis found themselves in this area in some of the most important systems for dispute resolution over domain names and other virtual environments, particularly compared to trade marks.

The new regulation also regulates the conditions under which the mention of a GI may be used commercially when it is used as an ingredient in product labelling. In practice this tended to create ambiguity and confusion among consumers as to whether the product benefited from the GI or what specifically benefited from the GI protection.

It also regulates the obligation to mention the producer on the labelling, the use of personal data in applications and the role of producer groups as GI management bodies.

Entry into force

The new regulation will enter into force 20 days after its publication and will be applicable as of 13 May 2024, except for the parts concerning Article 10(4) and (5) (concerning the national objection procedure of the EU Member States), Article 39, paragraph 1 (concerning the establishment by Member States of the list of operators carrying out activities subject to obligations laid down in GI specifications), and Article 45 (dealing with certification of compliance with the specification), which will apply from 1 January 2025.

Miguel Angel Medina is an associated partner of Elzaburu in Madrid and member of the MARQUES Council and the MARQUES GI Team