Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1956

Contents

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,Having regard to Regulation (EU) 2023/2411 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 October 2023 on the protection of geographical indications for craft and industrial products amending Regulations (EU) 2017/1001 and (EU) 2019/1753^note, and in particular Article 9(2), Article 11(4), Article 20(9), Article 22(9), Article 25(9), Article 27(4), Article 30(6), Article 31(11), Article 32(10), Article 37(7), Article 38(2), Article 48(8), Article 62(4) and Article 65(6),Having regard to Council Decision (EU) 2019/1754 of 7 October 2019 on the accession of the European Union to the Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement on Appellations of Origin and Geographical Indications^note,Whereas:

(1)Regulation (EU) 2023/2411 establishes a single common Union framework for the registration and protection of geographical indications for craft and industrial products.

(2)To ensure the smooth functioning of the market of geographical indications for craft and industrial products, and uniform conditions for the implementation of Regulation (EU) 2023/2411, certain rules have to be adopted by means of an implementing act. These rules are necessary in the following areas: application for registration, opposition procedure, amendments to the product specification, cancellation procedure, Union register, digital system for electronic submission of applications, use of a Union symbol, indication and abbreviation, fees to be charged by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (the ‘Office’), mutual assistance and cooperation between Member States in controls and enforcement and communications.

(3)For the sake of clarity, consistency and transparency, formalities for the application for registration at Union phase of a geographical indication for geographical indications originating within and outside the Union should be laid down.

(4)For the purposes of the application for registration of a geographical indication, the conditions in which a single producer may qualify as an eligible applicant should be defined. The single producer should substantiate that these conditions are met, a simple statement is not sufficient. Single producers should not be excluded from the possibility to apply for the registration of a geographical indication, if certain circumstances prevent them from the creation of a producer group. However, it should be clarified that the protected name may be used by other producers established in the defined geographical area provided the conditions laid down in the product specification are met, even where the protected name consists of or contains the name of the holding of the single producer.

(5)Where a craft or industrial product bearing a geographical indication can only be packaged within a defined geographical area according to the product specification, this may constitute a restriction on the free movement of goods and freedom to provide services as provided for in Articles 26, 36, 52 and 62 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. In light of the case-law of the Court of Justice, such restrictions may be imposed only if they are necessary and proportionate to safeguard quality, to certify the origin of the product or to ensure control. It is therefore necessary to ensure that any rules on packaging are duly justified.

(6)Applications for protection are examined by the national competent authorities of the Member State concerned through a preliminary national procedure, except in the direct registration procedure (‘direct registrations’), where the applications are lodged directly with the Office. Pursuant to Article 9(1), point (d), of Regulation (EU) 2023/2411, Member States and, in the case of direct registrations, the Office are to pay particular attention to the description of the link between a specific quality, reputation or other characteristic and the geographical origin of the product, taking into account the defined geographical area and the characteristics of the product. The definition of the defined geographical area should therefore be sufficiently detailed, precise and unambiguous so that producers, the competent authorities and the product certification bodies and natural persons designated for control tasks can ascertain whether operations are being carried out within its boundaries.

(7)Member States have knowledge, expertise and access to data and facts that make them the best placed to assess whether an application concerning a geographical indication fulfils the conditions for protection. Therefore, Member States should guarantee that the result of this assessment, which is to be recorded in a single document summarising the relevant elements of the product specification, is reliable and accurate. Having regard to the principle of subsidiarity, the Office should subsequently examine applications to ensure that there are no manifest errors. In standard procedures, the Office focuses its examination primarily on the single document. However, in situations when the single document is not sufficiently clear, or when doubts arise about the single document being a faithful summary of the product specification, the Office may cross-check the single document with the product specification in the standard procedure and, where necessary, take steps to ensure that any possible inconsistencies are addressed. In the event of third-country applications and direct registrations, the Office should cross-check the single document with the product specification to avoid possible differences. Where the application is for direct registration, the Office should examine direct applications on substance with the assistance of the single point of contact appointed by the Member States.

(8)In the standard procedures the competent authority of the Member State, in direct registrations, the applicant and in third-country applications, the applicant or the competent authority in the third country, depending on who submitted the application, should guarantee that the single document is summarising faithfully the relevant elements of the product specification.

(9)The parties in the opposition procedure may agree to use alternative dispute resolution, such as mediation, to reach a friendly settlement. They are free to choose the mediator, be it provided by the Office or another mediator. The parties to the opposition procedure and, if applicable, the respective Member States, may agree to share the cost of the fees, if any, in good faith of the alternative dispute resolution, such as mediation.

(10)In the event of a product that originates in a cross-border geographical area, several applicants from different Member States, from Member States and third countries, or from third countries may lodge a joint application for registration of a geographical indication for such a product. In this case, it should be specified where the Office should address the notifications or decisions.

(11)In the interest of clarity, certain steps of the procedure governing an application for registration of a geographical indication for craft and industrial products should be set out in detail. Such additional details should provide the clarification required for legal certainty and transparency as well as for guaranteeing the smooth conduct of the different procedures to the benefit of the users of the system for the protection of geographical indications for craft and industrial products.

(12)Publication of personal data should be avoided, unless necessary for the exercise of the rights guaranteed by the procedures.

(13)Additional rules regarding applications for direct registration and the Office’s cooperation with the single points of contact indicated by Member States should be laid down.

(14)In order to ensure a uniform and efficient registration procedure, it is necessary to establish uniform content for the single document. A limit to the length of the single document, including in the case of direct registrations, should be set out in order to have a more streamlined process to achieve standardisation. However, this limit to the length of the single document does not prevent applicants from going beyond it in duly justified cases, in particular, where several and complex production steps are defined in the product specification.

(15)The product specification for protected geographical indications should include the measures taken to ensure that the product originates in the defined geographical area. Those measures should be clear, objective and appropriate so that the product, know-how, the raw materials, if applicable, and other items coming from the defined geographical area can be traced.

(16)For the smooth functioning of the system, procedures for applications, oppositions, amendments of the products specification and cancellations should be provided for.

(17)When the Commission takes over the power to decide on an individual application for registration, a request for amendment of the product specification or a request for cancellation, under the conditions set out in Article 30 of Regulation (EU) 2023/2411, a procedure should be established.

(18)For the sake of legal certainty, the format and online presentation of the accompanying documents required should be laid down.

(19)Union amendments of the product specification should mutatis mutandis comply with the procedure governing applications for registration to ensure the same efficiency and guarantees. The procedure for standard amendments and temporary amendments should be established to allow Member States, and where applicable the Office, to carry out an appropriate assessment of the applications and to guarantee a consistent approach across the Union. The accuracy and exhaustiveness of Member States’ and the Office’s assessment of amendments should be equivalent to the accuracy and exhaustiveness required for the assessment process within the procedure governing application for registration.

(20)Standard amendments and temporary amendments related to the protected geographical indications of third countries should follow the approach that is to be provided for Member States and the Office, and the approval decision of such amendments should be taken in accordance with the system in force in the relevant third country.

(21)The cancellation procedure should be transparent and clear. To that end, the cancellation procedure should follow, mutatis mutandis, the procedure governing applications for registration, and in particular, it should be possible to oppose the cancellation request.

(22)In the context of the protection of geographical indications for craft and industrial products, a unitary and exhaustive system of geographical indications should contribute significantly to increased awareness, recognition and consumer understanding of the symbol, indications, abbreviations, both in the Union and in third countries. To ensure that appropriate information is communicated to the consumer, the technical characteristics of the Union symbol designed to publicise protected geographical indications, together with the corresponding abbreviation and the rules of the use thereof should be specified.

(23)To ensure that uniform and efficient procedures are in place, electronic forms for submitting applications for registration, oppositions, notice of comments, Union amendments, standard amendments and temporary amendments, notification of end of consultation following the opposition procedure and requests for cancellation of a registration should be provided.

(24)Geographical indications protected in the Union by virtue of an international registration under the Geneva Act or under international agreements of which the European Union is a party may be entered in the Union register, when the Commission so decides in accordance with Article 37 of Regulation (EU) 2023/2411.

(25)To ensure transparency and uniformity across Member States, it is necessary to adopt rules on the information technology (‘IT’) architecture and presentation of the Union register of geographical indications for craft and industrial products (‘the Union register’).

(26)The Office is to put in place a digital system for the electronic submission of applications to the Office, the Union register and the digital portal with the names and contact details of the competent authorities and product certification bodies and natural persons designated for control tasks. The Office, Member States, the Commission and the applicant should use this digital system for electronic submission of applications in the procedures established through this Regulation.

(27)To ensure effective and efficient communication in the context of mutual cooperation and assistance between Member States in controls and enforcement, detailed rules should be defined in this Regulation, in particular on the information that may be exchanged, the modalities of the assistance competent authorities provide to each other, including the possibility to conduct official communications through an information management system. On the latter, the Commission may make available an information management system.

(28)The manner in which the Office is to make the information concerning protected geographical indications for craft and industrial products accessible to the public should be laid down to ensure transparency and legal certainty.

(29)If, upon the Commission’s request, the Management Board and Budget Committee of the Office decides to establish a fee rebate mechanism in cooperation with the Commission, it should be established in a way that takes into account the needs of micro, small or medium-sized enterprises (‘MSMEs’). The Office should consider using the existing or establishing a new MSMEs support scheme in cooperation with the Commission, with a view to ensure the accessibility and affordability of the system for these producers or producer groups.

(30)To ensure a uniform approach to the communication and publication of all notifications, communications, documents and information required for the implementation of Regulation (EU) 2023/2411 and the related provisions of this Regulation and Commission Delegated Regulation C(2025) 9101^note certain rules need to be laid down.

(31)The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee for Craft and Industrial Geographical Indications,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: