On 18 November 2019, the DG for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs of the European Commission organized in Brussels a workshop to discuss the economic aspects of GI protection for non-agricultural products. It was the opportunity to present the methodology of the study commissioned on this topic, which will be finalized before the end of the year. Unfortunately, the Commission has not given any details concerning its policy-making agenda on the regulatory framework on non-agricultural GIs. However, the accession to the Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement will push the EU to implement a legislation on non-agricultural GIs. Refusing the protection of each and every non-agricultural GIs, which will be filed by other Geneva Act Member parties, in fact, is not an option and would be difficult to defend, both from a political and legal point of view.
Meanwhile, the European Parliament Think Tank published a report on “Geographical indications for non-agricultural products – Cost of Non-Europe”. It was finalized by the European Added Value (EAVA) Unit of the European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS) for the European Parliament’s Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI), in support of the latter’s resolution on a possible extension of EU GI protection to non-agricultural products. The report seeks to quantify the costs arising from the lack of European Union legislation protecting GIs for non-agricultural products and estimates that introducing EU-wide protection system in this sector would have an overall positive effect on trade and employment.
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For more information about GIs protection for non-agricultural products’ names at the EU level see the concerning category in the section Policy and Advocacy
