The new EU Regulation for the protection of geographical indications for craft and industrial products (non-agri GIs) entered into force on 16 November 2023. The Regulation creates a new scheme for the protection of craft and industrial products with qualities or reputations linked to their area of production.
Applications for registration of non-agri GIs are set to open from 1 December 2025 and will include two phases, national and EU. The latter will be processed by the EUIPO, which will host an online application filing and management system. No fees will be due for the EU phase of an application.
Any existing national rights in EU member states will cease to exist after December 2026, though those rights can be transferred to EU protection. It is expected that around 300 to 800 existing national non-agri GIs will be notified of the same.
Further information on GI legislation and online tools can be found in the EUIPO’s new GI Hub created earlier this month.
If you have any questions on the above, please do not hesitate to contact the team at McDaniels Law on 0191 281 4000 or legal@mcdanielslaw.com.
