FOREIGN AGRICULTURAL SERVICE
U.S. MISSION TO THE EUROPEAN UNION

Last update:  March 8, 2010

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In 1992, the EU created a system to provide protection throughout the EU for the geographical indications and designations of origin of certain agricultural products and foodstuffs.  The "Protected Designation of Origin" system covers foodstuffs produced, processed AND prepared in a given geographical area using recognized know-how.  Under the "Protected Geographical Indication" system, the geographical link must occur in at least one of the stages of production, processing OR preparation.  To qualify for the scheme, the link between the characteristics of the product and the geographical area must be proven.  Protection is guaranteed once the product name has been published in the Official Journal.  Lists of protected names by country, product type, registered name and name applied for are available through the Commission's online "DOOR" (Database of Origin and Registration) database. 

In 1999, the United States challenged the EU GI regulation in the WTO on two grounds: discrimination against U.S. GIs and failure to protect U.S. trademarks.  In 2003, the United States requested the establishment of a WTO dispute settlement panel claiming that the GI regulation was not consistent with the EU's obligations under the WTO (Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights).  The United States was concerned that the regulation imposed significant barriers to registration and protection for non-EU persons and non-EU products and deprived trademark owners of TRIPS-level ownership rights.  

In March 2005, the WTO panel ruled that certain aspects of the EU GI regulation were inconsistent with WTO rules and set a deadline for the EU to modify its regulation before April 2006.  In March 2006, the Council adopted Regulation 510/2006 in order to bring the EU GI system into compliance with the ruling of the WTO.  Commission Regulation 1898/2006 lays down detailed rules for the implementation of Regulation 510/2006.  Under the new rules, registration of GIs by producers in third countries can be made directly to the Commission.  The new rules also allow individuals in third countries to object to an application for the protection of GI directly to the Commission rather than through their governments.

On October 15, 2008, the European Commission published its "Green Paper on agricultural product quality: product standards, farming views and quality schemes".  The Green Paper is divided into three categories:
1) baseline production requirements and marketing standards
2) specific EU quality schemes such as geographical indications
3) food quality certification schemes

The Green Paper raises questions such as "How should the scheme for GI's be developed?" and "How can GI's better be protected in third countries?".  The conclusions from the online consultation have been published on the the Commission's website.

In May 2009, the European Commission published its "Communication on Agricultural Product Quality Policy" which outlines a number of policy options including a recast of the geographical indications legislation.  For more information see GAIN report "EU Orientation Paper on a New Food Quality Policy".

Reports

	EU Orientation Paper on a New Food Quality Policy (July 2009)
	Geographic Indications: Italy's Food Trademark System (March 2010)