Considerations on COM(2022)174 - Geographical indication protection for craft and industrial products - Main contents
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This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
| dossier | COM(2022)174 - Geographical indication protection for craft and industrial products. |
|---|---|
| document | COM(2022)174  |
| date | October 18, 2023 |
(2) In its Communication of 25 November 2020 entitled ‘Making the most of the EU’s innovative potential – An intellectual property action plan to support the EU’s recovery and resilience’, the Commission committed itself to considering, based on an impact assessment, whether to propose a Union system of geographical indications (GIs) protection for non-agricultural products.
(3) For many years, geographical indication protection has been established at Union level for wines, spirit drinks6, aromatised wines7, as defined at Union level, as well as agricultural products and foodstuffs8, as protected at Union level. It is appropriate to provide Union-wide geographical indication protection in respect of products falling outside the scope of existing regulations, while ensuring convergence, and aiming at encompassing a large variety of craft and industrial products, such as natural stones, jewellery, textiles, lace, cutlery, glass and porcelain.
(4) Several Member States have national regimes for the protection of national geographical indications for craft and industrial products. These regimes differ in terms of protection, administration and fees, and do not offer protection beyond the national territory. Other Member States do not provide for geographical indication protection at national level for such products. That complex landscape of various protection regimes at Member States level may result in increased costs and legal uncertainty for producers and be a disincentive to investment in the traditional crafts in the Union.
(5) Unitary protection throughout the Union for the intellectual property rights related to geographical indications can contribute to incentives for the production of quality products, the wide availability of such products for consumers and the creation of valuable and sustainable jobs including in rural and less-developed regions. In particular in view of the potential of geographical indications to contribute to sustainable and highly skilled jobs in rural and less developed regions, producers should aim at creating a substantial proportion of the value of the product designated by a geographical indication within the defined geographical area.
(6) On 26 November 2019, the Union acceded to the 2015 Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement on Appellations of Origin and Geographical Indications9 (‘Geneva Act’) which is administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization. The Geneva Act offers a means to obtain protection of geographical indications regardless of the nature of the goods to which they apply, including handicrafts and industrial products.
(7) Making geographically linked products is often based on local know-how and follows local production methods that are rooted in the cultural and social heritage of the home region of such products. Efficient intellectual property protection has the potential to contribute to increased profitability and attractiveness of the traditional craft professions. Specific geographical indication protection is acknowledged so as to safeguard and develop cultural heritage both in the agricultural and the craft and industrial areas. Efficient procedures should be established for the registration of Union geographical indications protecting the names of craft and industrial products, which take into account regional and local specificities. The geographical indication system for craft and industrial products should ensure that the production and marketing traditions are maintained and enhanced.
(8) It is therefore necessary to firstly, ensure fair competition for producers of craft and industrial products in the internal market; secondly, guarantee the availability to consumers of reliable information pertaining to such products; thirdly, safeguard and develop cultural heritage and traditional know-how; fourthly ensure an efficient registration of geographical indications for craft and industrial products both for the Union and at international level; fifthly provide for an effective enforcement of intellectual property rights throughout the Union and in electronic commerce within the internal market, and lastly, ensure the link with the international registration and protection system based on the Geneva Act.
(9) To provide for a full coverage of craft and industrial products eligible for GI protection (i.e. those having characteristics, attributes or reputation linked to their place of production or manufacturing), the scope of this Regulation needs to be determined in line with the relevant international framework, namely, the World Trade Organization. Hence, the use of the Combined Nomenclature should be established through direct reference to Annex I to Council Regulation No 2658/8710. This approach ensures coherence with the scope of the revised GI Regulation for agricultural products, foodstuff, wine and spirits.
(10) This Regulation respects the fundamental rights and observes the principles recognised in particular by the Charter. Accordingly, this Regulation should be interpreted and applied in accordance with those rights and principles including the right to protection of personal data, the freedom to conduct a business and the right to property, including intellectual property.
(11) The tasks assigned by this Regulation to Member States’ authorities, the Commission and the European Union Intellectual Property Office, hereinafter the ‘Office’, may require the processing of personal data, in particular where this is needed to identify applicants in a registration amendment or cancellation procedure, opponents in an opposition procedure or beneficiaries of transitional period granted to derogate from the protection of a registered name.. Processing of such personal data is therefore necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest. Any processing of personal data under this Regulation should respect fundamental rights, including the right to respect for private and family life and the right to protection of personal data under Articles 7 and 8 of the Charter and it is essential that Member States comply with Regulation (EU) 2016/67911 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Directive 2002/58/EC12, and the Commission and the Office with Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council13.
(12) Where applicable, the information included in the single document shall be made available through the Digital Product Passport as set out by the Regulation establishing a framework for ecodesign requirements for sustainable products and repealing Directive 2009/125/EC.
(13) Member States should have the possibility to charge a registration fee to cover their costs of managing the geographical indication system for craft and industrial products. Member States should charge lower fees for micro, small or medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). The Office should not charge a fee for the management of the Union application process. However, the Office should have the possibility to charge a fee for the direct registration. In that case, the fees charged by the Office should be laid down by an implementing act in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council14.
(14) To qualify for protection in the Member States, geographical indications should be registered only at Union level. However, with effect from the date of application for such registration at Union level, Member States should be able to grant temporary protection at national level without affecting the internal market of the Union or international trade. The protection afforded by this Regulation upon registration should be equally available to geographical indications of third countries that meet the corresponding criteria and that are protected in their country of origin. The Office should carry out the corresponding procedures for geographical indications originating in third countries.
(15) The procedures for registration, amendments to the product specification and cancellation of the registration in respect of geographical indications originating in the Union under this Regulation should be carried out by the Member States and the Office. The Member States and the Office should be responsible for distinct stages of the procedures. Member States should be responsible for the first stage, which consists of receiving the application from the applicants, assessing it, running the national opposition procedure, and, following the positive results of the assessment, submitting the Union application to the Office. The Office should be responsible for examining the applications in the second stage of the procedure, running the worldwide opposition procedure and taking a decision on granting or refusing the protection to the geographical indication. The Office should also carry out the corresponding procedures for geographical indications originating in third countries, without prejudice to the direct registration procedure.
(16) In order to facilitate the management of GI applications by national authorities, it should be possible for two or more Member States to: (i) cooperate in the management of the national phase of the procedures, including those procedures for registration, examination, national opposition, submission of the Union application to the Office, amendments to the product specification and cancellation of the registration, and (ii) decide that one of them manages these procedures also on behalf of the other Member State or Member States concerned. In those cases, all the Member States concerned should inform the Commission without delay, providing the necessary information.
(17) It is possible for certain Member States to obtain a derogation from the Member States’ obligation to designate a national authority in respect of geographical indications for craft and industrial products to take charge of the procedures for registration, national opposition, amendments to the product specification and cancellation of the registration under certain circumstances specified in this Regulation. That derogation, that should take the form of a Commission Decision, takes into account the fact that certain Member States do not have a specific national system for the management of geographical indications for craft and industrial products and that the local interest in these countries to protect these geographical indications is minimal. Under these circumstances, it would not be justified to oblige the respective Member State to set up an infrastructure, employ the necessary personnel and purchase facilities for the management of these geographical indications. It is more effective and economical to provide an alternative procedure for the producer groups from these Member States to protect their products by a geographical indication. The “direct registration procedure” has cost advantages reaped by Member States. Pursuant to this derogation, procedures for registration, amendments to the product specification and cancellation should be managed directly by the Office. In this regard the Office should receive the effective assistance of the administrative authorities of that Member State when required by the Office, through designation of a contact point, as regards in particular aspects related to the examination of the application. In those cases, the Office should be entitled to charge a registration fee, considering that this procedure generates more work for the Office than the management of Union applications. However, the application of the “direct registration procedure” should not exempt Member States from the obligation to designate a competent authority for the controls and enforcement and to take the necessary actions to enforce the rights set out in this Regulation. The competent authority maintained or designated for the management of the geographical indications and the competent authority designated for the controls and enforcement may differ, when a Member State so decides.
(18) The Commission, after reviewing the information provided by the Member State, should adopt a Commission Decision establishing the right of the Member State to opt for the exceptional direct registration procedure. Accordingly, the Commission should retain the right to modify and withdraw a Decision allowing a Member State to opt for the “direct registration procedure”, should the conditions not be met by the Member State concerned. This is, for example, the case should the number of direct applications submitted by applicants from that Member State exceed the original number estimated by that Member State in a recurrent manner over time.
(19) To ensure coherent decision-making as regards applications for protection and judicial challenges against them, submitted in the national procedure, the Office should be informed in a timely and regular manner when procedures are launched before national courts or other bodies concerning an application for registration forwarded by the Member State to the Office and of their final results. For the same reason, where a Member State considers that a national decision on which the application for protection is based is likely to be invalidated as a result of national judicial proceedings, it should inform the Office of that assessment. If the Member State requests the suspension of the examination of an application at Union level, the Office should be exempted from the obligation to meet the deadline for examination established therein. In order to protect the applicant from vexatious legal actions and to preserve the applicant’s right to secure the protection of a name within a reasonable time, the exemption should be limited to cases in which the application for registration has been invalidated at national level by an immediately applicable but not final judicial decision or in which the Member State considers that the action to challenge the validity of the application is based on valid grounds.
(20) To allow operators, whose interests are affected by the registration of a name, to continue to use that name for a limited period of time, while contravening the protection regime, specific derogations for the use of the names in the form of transitional periods should be granted. Such periods can also be allowed to overcome temporary difficulties and with the long-term objective of ensuring that all producers comply with the product specification. Without prejudice to the rules governing conflicts between geographical indications and trademarks, names, which would otherwise contravene the protection of geographical indication, may continue to be used under certain conditions and for a transitional period.
(21) The Commission should have the right to take over from the Office the power to decide concerning individual applications for registration, amendments to the product specification or cancellation. The Office should remain responsible for the examination of the file, the opposition procedure, when needed, and based on technical considerations, it shall submit a proposal for an implementing act to the Commission. Any Member State or the Office may request the Commission to exercise this prerogative. The Commission may also act on its own initiative.
(22) To ensure transparency and uniformity across Member States, it is necessary to establish and maintain an electronic Union register of geographical indications for craft and industrial products. The register should be an electronic database stored within an information system, and should be accessible to the public. The Union register of geographical indications for craft and industrial products should be developed, kept and maintained by the Office and also the personnel for its operation should be provided by the Office.
(23) The Union negotiates international agreements, including those concerning the protection geographical indications, with its trade partners. Protection of geographical indications for craft and industrial products throughout the Union can also stem from those agreements, irrespective of the international registrations provided under the Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement on Appellations of Origin and Geographical Indications or the application and registration system set out in this Regulation. In order to facilitate the provision to the public of information about the geographical indications protected in the Union either by virtue of the international registrations provided under the Geneva Act or by virtue of the international agreements with the Union trade partners, and in particular to ensure protection and control of the use to which those geographical indications are put, those geographical indications should be entered in the Union register of geographical indications for craft and industrial products.
(24) For the optimal functioning of the internal market, it is important that producers and other operators concerned, authorities and consumers may quickly and easily have access to the relevant information concerning a registered protected geographical indication.
(25) It is necessary to ensure that parties that are affected by decisions made by the Office are protected by the law. To that end, provision should be made to allow for an appeal of decisions of the Office, taken in proceedings under this Regulation, before an appeal body of the Office. A Boards of Appeal of the Office should decide on the appeal. Decisions of the Boards of Appeal should, in turn, be amenable to actions before the General Court, which has jurisdiction to annul or to alter the contested decision.
(26) The Office should establish an information and alert system against the abusive use of craft and industrial geographical indications in the domain name system. This system should inform applicants, on the one hand, about the availability of the geographical indication as a domain name and, on the other hand, provide them with information once a domain name that is conflicting with their geographical indication is registered. Receiving such alerts would allow producers to take appropriate action more quickly and effectively. Registries of country-code top-level domain names, established in the Union, should provide the Office with all the information and data in their possession necessary to run the system as a task carried out in public interest, namely information on the availability of the geographical indication as a domain name and, as far as the alerts are concerned, the particulars of conflicting domain names, the dates of its application and registration. The information and data should be provided in a machine readable format. Making the information and data available to the Office is proportionate as it serves the legitimate purpose of ensuring better protection and enforcement of geographical indications as intellectual property in the online environment. This is even more so as regarding the alerts the transfer of domain name registration data is explicitly limited to those domain names that are identical or similar and therefore potentially capable of infringing the geographical indication concerned.
(27) It is necessary to establish an Advisory Board, which is a pool of experts, composed of representatives from Member States and the Commission. The purpose of the Advisory Board is to provide the necessary local knowledge and expertise concerning certain products and knowledge about the local circumstances that may influence the outcome of the procedures laid down in this Regulation. In order to support the Office on its assessment of individual applications at any stage of the examination, opposition, appeal or other procedures with specific technical knowledge, the Geographical Indications Division or the Boards of Appeal, at its own initiative or at the request of the Commission, should have the possibility to consult the Advisory Board. The consultation, when necessary, should also include a general opinion on assessing quality criteria, establishing reputation and renown, determining generic nature of a name, and assessing fair competition in commercial transactions and the risk of confusing consumers. The opinion of the Advisory Board should not be binding. The appointment procedure of the experts and the operation of the Advisory Board should be specified in the rules of procedure of the Advisory Board approved by the Management Board.
(28) Protection should be granted to names included in the Union register of geographical indications for craft and industrial products to ensure that they are used fairly and in order to prevent practices liable to mislead consumers. In order to strengthen geographical indication protection and to combat more effectively counterfeiting, the protection of geographical indications should also apply to domain names on the internet. Concerning the protection of geographical indications, it is also important to have due regard to the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, and in particular Articles 22 and 23 thereof, and to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade including Article V thereof on freedom of transit, which were approved by Council Decision 94/800/EC15. Within such legal framework, in order to strengthen geographical indication protection and to combat counterfeiting more effectively, such protection should also apply with regard to goods entering the customs territory of the Union without being released for free circulation, and placed under special customs procedures such as those relating to transit, storage, specific use or processing.
(29) Clarity is required on the use of a geographical indication in the sale name of a manufactured product of which the product designated by the geographical indication is a part or component. It should be ensured that such use is made in accordance with fair commercial practices and does not weaken, does not dilute, or is not detrimental to the reputation of the product designated by the geographical indication. The consent of the producers group or the individual producer of the geographical indication concerned should be required to allow such use.
(30) Generic terms that are similar to, or form part of, a name or term that is protected by a geographical indication should retain their generic status.
(31) The protection of geographical indications needs to balance with the protection of homonymous names registered as geographical indications as well as renowned trademarks, in particular in light of the fundamental right to property as set out in Article 17 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union as well as obligations resulting from international law.
(32) Producer groups play an essential role in the application process for the registration of geographical indications, as well as in the amendment of specifications and cancellation requests. They should be equipped with the necessary means to better identify and market the specific characteristics of their products. The role of the producer group should therefore be clarified.
(33) The relationship between internet domain names and geographical indications should be clarified as regards the scope of the application of the remedy measures, the recognition of geographical indications in dispute resolution, and the fair use of domain names. Persons having a legitimate interest in a registered geographical indication should be empowered to request for the revocation or the transfer of the domain name in case the conflicting domain name has been registered by its holder without rights or legitimate interest in the geographical indication or if it has been registered or is being used in bad faith and its use contravenes the protection of a geographical indication. Alternative dispute resolution procedures should not prejudice the possibility of bringing domain name disputes before a national court.
(34) The relationship between trade marks and geographical indications should also be clarified in relation to criteria for the rejection of trade mark applications, the invalidation of trade marks and the coexistence between trade marks and geographical indications.
(35) In order to avoid creating unfair conditions for competition, any producer, including a third-country producer, should be able to use a registered geographical indication, provided that the product concerned complies with the requirements of the relevant product specification, or single document or equivalent to the latter i.e. a complete summary of the product specification. The system set up by the Member States should also guarantee that producers complying with the rules are covered by the verification of compliance of the product specification.
(36) As it is the first time that an Union-wide geographical indication protection system for craft and industrial product is implemented, it is important to raise awareness among consumers, producers, especially MSMEs and public authorities at national, regional and local level about the initiative.
(37) The symbols, indications and abbreviations identifying a registered geographical indication, and the rights therein pertaining to the Union, should be protected in the Union as well as in third countries with the aim of ensuring that they are used on genuine products and that consumers are not misled as to the qualities of products.
(38) The use of Union symbols and indications on the packaging of craft and industrial products designated by a geographical indication should be recommended in order to make this category of products, and the guarantees attached to them, better known to consumers and to permit easier identification of these products on the market, thereby facilitating checks. The use of such symbols or indications should remain voluntary for third-country geographical indications.
(39) For the sake of clarity for consumers and to maximise coherence with the revised Regulation for protection of geographical indications for agricultural products, foodstuff, wine and spirits, the Union symbol used on the packaging of craft and industrial products designated by a geographical indication should be identical to the one used on the packaging of agricultural products and foodstuffs, wines and spirit drinks designated by a geographical indication established under Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 664/201416.
(40) The added value of geographical indications is based on consumer trust. Such trust can only be well-founded if the registration of geographical indications is accompanied by effective verification and controls, including the producer’s due diligence.
(41) In order to guarantee consumers of the specific characteristics of craft and industrial products protected by geographical indications, producers should be subject to a system that verifies compliance with the product specification before the product is put on the market. Member States should be free to establish a third-party verification system operated by the competent authorities, and the product certification bodies, to which those authorities delegate certain official control tasks or a verification system based on a producer’ s self-declaration. The self-declaration should be submitted to the competent authorities assuring conformity with the product specification.
(42) To guarantee compliance with the product specification after the product has been put on the market, competent authorities should perform official controls in the marketplace on a risk analysis and with appropriate frequency considering the likelihood of non-compliances including fraudulent or deceptive practices.
(43) Enforcement of geographical indications in the marketplace is important to prevent fraudulent and deceptive practices thus ensuring that the producers of products designated by a geographical indication are properly rewarded for the added value of their products bearing a geographical indication and that illegal users of those geographical indications are prevented from selling their products. Therefore, apart from controls concerning the producers, Member States should also take appropriate administrative and judicial steps to prevent or stop the use of names on products or services that contravene the protected geographical indications, where such products are produced, marketed or such services are marketed, in their territory. For the purposes of enforcing geographical indications, measures, procedures and remedies set out in Directive 2004/48/EC17 of the European Parliament and of the Council are available as they are applicable to any infringement of intellectual property rights.
(44) Member States should have the possibility to allow producers to fulfil their obligation to perform due diligence by submitting a self-declaration to the competent authorities every three years, demonstrating their continued compliance. Producers should be required to renew their self-declaration immediately where there is an amendment to the product specification or a change affecting the concerned product. The use of self-declaration should not prevent producers from having their conformity fully or partially certified by eligible third parties. A third-party certification should be able to supplement a self-declaration but not replace it.
(45) The self-declaration should provide competent authorities with all necessary information on the product and on its compliance with the product specification. To ensure that the information provided in the self-declaration is comprehensive, a harmonised structure for such declarations should be laid down in Annex. It is important to ensure that the self-declaration is filled in truthfully and accurately. Therefore, the producer should take full responsibility for the information provided in the self-declaration, and should be able to provide the necessary evidence to allow for the verification of that information.
(46) Where a self-declaration certification procedure is in place, competent authorities should carry out random controls.
(47) In the event of non-compliance with the product specification, the competent authorities should take appropriate measures to ensure that the producers concerned remedy the situation and to prevent further non-compliances. In addition, Member States should provide for a set of effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties aimed at deterring possible fraudulent behaviour by producers.
(48) Control and verification fees or charges should cover, but not exceed, the costs, including overhead costs, incurred by the competent authorities to perform official controls. Overhead costs could include the costs of the organisation and support necessary for planning and carrying out the official controls. Such costs should be calculated on the basis of each individual official control or on the basis of all official controls performed over a given period of time. Where fees or charges are applied on the basis of the actual cost of individual official controls, producers with a good record of compliance should bear lower overall charges than non-compliant ones, as such producers with a good record of compliance should be subject to less frequent official controls. In order to promote compliance with Union legislation by all producers irrespective of the method (based on actual costs or on a flat rate) that each Member States has chosen for the calculation of the fees or charges, where fees or charges are calculated on the basis of overall costs incurred by the competent authorities over a given period of time, and imposed on all producers irrespective of whether they are subject to an official control during the reference period, those fees or charges should be calculated so as to reward producers with a consistently good record of compliance. No fee should be charged for the submission of the self-declaration and its processing.
(49) To ensure impartiality and effectiveness, the competent authorities designated to perform the verification of the compliance with the product specification should meet a number of operational criteria. To facilitate the task of controls and to make the system more effective competent authorities should be able to delegate competences regarding the performance of specific control tasks to a legal person which certifies that products designated by geographical indications comply with the product specification (‘product certification body’). A delegation of such competences to natural persons should also be envisaged.
(50) Information on the competent authorities and on product certification bodies should be made public by Member States and the Office to ensure the transparency and allow interested parties to contact them.
(51) European standards (EN standards) developed by the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN) and international standards developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) should be used for the accreditation of product certification bodies as well as by those bodies for their operations. The accreditation of those bodies should take place in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council18. Natural persons should have the expertise, equipment and infrastructure required to perform those official control tasks delegated to them; should be suitably qualified and experienced, and act impartially and free from any conflict of interest as regards the exercise of those official control tasks delegated to them. Product certification bodies established outside the Union should demonstrate their compatibility with Union or internationally recognised standards based on a certificate issued by a body that is a signatory of a multilateral recognition agreement under the auspices of the International Accreditation Forum.
(52) In order to strengthen geographical indication protection and to combat counterfeiting more effectively, the protection of geographical indications should apply to both, the offline and online environment including domain names on the internet. Intermediary services, in particular online platforms have become increasingly used for the sale of products, including those designated by geographical indications, and in some cases online platforms might represent an important space as regards preventing fraud. In this regard, information related to the advertising, promotion and sale of goods that contravenes the protection of geographical indications provided for in Article 35, should be considered illegal content within the meaning of Article 2 (g) of Regulation (EU) No xxxx/202219 of the European Parliament and of the Council and be subject of obligations and measures under that Regulation.
(53) Taking into account that a product designated by the geographical indication produced in one Member State might be sold in another Member State, administrative assistance between Member States should be ensured to allow effective controls and its practicalities should be laid down.
(54) For the optimal functioning of the internal market, it is important that producers quickly and easily demonstrate in several contexts that they are authorised to use a protected name, such as at customs controls, market inspections or on demand by trade operators. To this end, an official certificate, or other proof of certification, of entitlement to produce the product designated by the geographical indication should be put at the disposal of the producer.
(55) The action of the Union following its accession to the Geneva Act is governed by Regulation (EU) 2019/1753 of the European Parliament and of the Council20. Certain provisions of that Regulation should be amended to ensure coherence with the introduction of geographical indication protection for craft and industrial products at the Union level, in accordance with this Regulation. In this context, the Office should play the role of the Union’s competent authority in respect of geographical indications for craft and industrial products under the Geneva Act. Provisions of Regulation (EU) 2019/1753 applicable to geographical indications falling outside the scope of regulations on the EU’s protection schemes for agricultural geographical indications should be aligned with this Regulation.
(56) Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 of the European Parliament and of the Council21 should be amended. Article 151 of that Regulation sets out the tasks of the Office. The administration and promotion of geographical indications, in particular the tasks conferred on the Office under this Regulation should be added to Article 151 of that Regulation. In addition, in order to ensure coherence with this Regulation, a provision on the establishment of a domain name information and alert system for EU trade marks should also be inserted in that Regulation.
(57) For the tasks conferred on the Office under this Regulation, the languages of the Office should be all the official languages of the Union. The Office may accept verified translations into one of the official languages of the Union of documents and information with respect to applications for registration, amendment for product specification and cancellation procedures submitted from third countries. The Office may, if appropriate, use verified machine translations.
(58) The digital system should include a front and back office and allow for smooth connection, interface with and integration to IT systems of national authorities, the Union GI register of geographical indications for craft and industrial products and the IT system of the World Intellectual Property Office for the protection through the Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement. The Union register of geographical indications designed by the Office for craft and industrial products should be similar in appearance and have at least those functionalities to the Register of geographical indications for wines, foodstuff and agricultural products.
(59) In order to ensure uniform conditions for the implementation of this Regulation, implementing powers should be conferred on the Commission as regards: (i) laying down rules which limit the information contained in the product specification, where such a limitation is necessary to avoid excessively voluminous applications for registration; (ii) laying down rules on the form of the product specification; (iii) specifying the format and online presentation of the relevant single document; (iv) specifying the format and online presentation of the accompanying documentation; (v) determining the amounts of the fees and the ways in which they are to be paid; (vi) specifying further details on the criteria to lodge direct applications and on the procedures for the preparation and submission of the direct applications; (vii) specifying the procedures, and criteria for preparation and submission of the applications, and their form and presentation, in order to facilitate the application process, including for applications concerning more than one national territory; (viii) laying down the necessary rules to provide for the submission of official comments by national authorities and persons with a legitimate interest in order to facilitate the official submission of comments and to improve management of the opposition process; (ix) specifying the format and online presentation of oppositions and any comments procedure; (x) specifying rules on the protection of the geographical indication; (xi) deciding on the protection of geographical indications pertaining to products of third countries that are protected in the Union under an international agreement to which the Union is a contracting party; (xii) specifying the content and presentation of the Union register of geographical indications; (xiii) specifying the format and online presentation of extracts from the Union register of geographical indications for craft and industrial products; (xiv) laying down detailed rules on procedures, form and presentation of an amendment application for Union amendment and on procedures, form and communication of standard amendments to the Office; (xv) laying down detailed rules on procedures and form of the cancellation process, as well as on the presentation of the requests; (xvi) setting out the technical characteristics of the Union symbol and indications as well as the rules of their use on the products marketed under a registered geographical indication, including rules concerning the appropriate linguistic versions to be used; (xvii) specifying the nature and the type of the information to be exchanged and the methods for exchanging information under mutual assistance. Those powers should be exercised in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council22.
(60) In order to amend or supplement certain non-essential elements of this Regulation, the power to adopt acts in accordance with Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union should be delegated to the Commission in respect of the requirements or listing additional items of the accompanying documentation, defining procedures and conditions applicable to the preparation and submission of Union applications for registration, rules on entrusting the Office to operate the Union register of geographical indications for craft and industrial products; the formal content of the notice of appeal, the procedure for the filing and the examination of an appeal as well as the formal content and the form of the Board of Appeal’s decisions; the information and requirements of the self-declaration and the technical assistance of the Office. It is of particular importance that the Commission carry out appropriate consultations during its preparatory work, including at expert level, and that those consultations be conducted in accordance with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making23. In particular, to ensure equal participation in the preparation of delegated acts, the European Parliament and the Council receive all documents at the same time as Member States' experts, and their experts systematically have access to meetings of Commission expert groups dealing with the preparation of delegated acts.
(61) The current protection of geographical indications at national level is based on various regulatory approaches. Having two parallel systems at Union and national levels might carry the risk of confusing consumers and producers. The replacement of national specific geographical indication protection systems by the Union wide regulatory framework will create legal certainty, reduce administrative burden for national authorities, ensure fair competition between the producers of the products bearing such indications as well as predictable and relatively low costs and enhance the credibility of the products in the consumers’ eyes. To this end, the national specific protection for geographical indications for craft and industrial products will cease to exist one year after the entry into force of this Regulation. The protection may be extended in time until the registration process is finalised for those national GIs identified by interested Member States. Some Member States that are party to the Lisbon Agreement for the Protection of Appellations of Origin and their International Registration have registered geographical indications for craft and industrial products and protected geographical indications for craft and industrial products originating from third countries under that Agreement. Regulation (EU) 2019/1753 should therefore be amended so as to allow for the continued protection of those geographical indications for craft and industrial products.
(62) Since a period of time is required to ensure that the framework for the proper functioning of this Regulation is in place to create a Union and international registration system (including IT system, setting up and managing the Union register of geographical indications for craft and industrial products, the EU alert system against the abusive use of geographical indications for craft and industrial products in the internet, etc.), this Regulation should start to apply [XX] months following the date of its entry into force.
(63) The European Data Protection Supervisor was consulted in accordance with Article 42(1) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 and delivered an opinion on (…).