Reform of the geographical indications system
NAT-VII/025
Reform of the geographical indications system
THE EUROPEAN COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS
supports the establishment of a single set of procedural rules for all sectors, with a view to ensuring consistency and making the geographical indications (GI) system clearer;
supports the proposal to add the possibility of regional or local public bodies helping in the preparation of the application and the registration procedure for GIs in order to formalise regions' contributions to the preparation and preliminary stages of the registration process for GIs, and wishes the CoR to be involved in the evaluation system;
considers that the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), given its technical expertise on intellectual property rights (IPR) and its resources, could be involved in the functioning of the EU GI system by providing technical assistance to the European Commission in cases relating to intellectual property, and in a manner to be clearly defined in the legislative proposal;
notes also that EUIPO has developed real expertise in the field of geographical indications and has very effective tools that could be very useful for monitoring and promoting geographical indications and combating fraud;
approves of the inclusion of voluntary sustainability undertakings in GIs, the definition of which should be clarified in the Regulation;
welcomes the European Commission's ambition to encourage GI producers to work together effectively within producer groups and to give such groups more powers, but believes that the proposal does not take into account the diversity of legal situations in the Member States;
given the fact that small and medium-sized GIs account for 48% of the total number of GIs in the EU, but only 0.5% of the total value of sales under GIs, recommends adequate support to enable producers to deal with production costs and thus avoid them giving up on certification.
supports the establishment of a single set of procedural rules for all sectors, with a view to ensuring consistency and making the geographical indications (GI) system clearer;
supports the proposal to add the possibility of regional or local public bodies helping in the preparation of the application and the registration procedure for GIs in order to formalise regions' contributions to the preparation and preliminary stages of the registration process for GIs, and wishes the CoR to be involved in the evaluation system;
considers that the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), given its technical expertise on intellectual property rights (IPR) and its resources, could be involved in the functioning of the EU GI system by providing technical assistance to the European Commission in cases relating to intellectual property, and in a manner to be clearly defined in the legislative proposal;
notes also that EUIPO has developed real expertise in the field of geographical indications and has very effective tools that could be very useful for monitoring and promoting geographical indications and combating fraud;
approves of the inclusion of voluntary sustainability undertakings in GIs, the definition of which should be clarified in the Regulation;
welcomes the European Commission's ambition to encourage GI producers to work together effectively within producer groups and to give such groups more powers, but believes that the proposal does not take into account the diversity of legal situations in the Member States;
given the fact that small and medium-sized GIs account for 48% of the total number of GIs in the EU, but only 0.5% of the total value of sales under GIs, recommends adequate support to enable producers to deal with production costs and thus avoid them giving up on certification.
