What is a Geographical Indication (GI)?
Geographical indications identify products that originate in a country, region or locality where a particular quality, reputation or other characteristic of the product is attributable to its geographical origin. To be eligible for GI protection, at least one of the production steps must take place in the geographical area.
Craft and industrial products cover a large variety of products, such as natural stones, woodwork, jewellery, textiles, lace, cutlery, glass, porcelain, hides and skins, and so on. The new EU law for GI protection defines craft and industrial products as products that are “produced either entirely by hand, or with the aid of manual or digital tools, or by mechanical means, whenever the manual contribution is an important component of the finished product or produced in a standardised way, including serial production and by using machines”.
The new GI protection system for craft and industrial products will complement the existing EU protection system for agricultural GI products, wines and spirit drinks that has been in existence for many years. Some well know Irish Agri-GI products include Irish Grass Fed Beef, Connemara Hill Lamb and Irish Whiskey.
Benefits of GI protection
- This new intellectual property right related to GIs is a positive development for producers of craft and industrial products who can now seek GI protection for the names of their authentic quality products.
- GIs incentivise the production of high-quality products and preserve the traditions and local skills associated with them and reward producers for their efforts to produce a diverse range of quality products.
- It will contribute to the creation of valuable and sustainable jobs in the geographical areas where GI products are produced, strengthening the competitiveness of our SMEs and manufacturers. It will also have a positive impact on national and regional tourism.
- GI protection, supported by labelling and specific logos, help consumers identify authentic, original products of a particular quality, origin and method of production.
- GI protection will also contribute to the fight against counterfeit and fraudulent products in the market, both online and offline, by allowing producers to prevent the use of protected names for similar products made outside the designated geographical areas.
- Producers of craft and industrial products who have obtained GI protection in the EU can seek international protection for their GI products in markets outside the EU as part of the trade, economic partnership, and other international agreements that the EU concludes with third countries.
About the new EU GI protection system
EU Regulation 2023/2411 establishes a new intellectual property right for geographical indication protection for craft and industrial products and lays down the legal framework for the new protection system. The regulation entered into force on 16 November 2023. From 1 December 2025, it will be possible for producers to apply for the GI protection for the names of their craft and industrial products through a single application process covering all EU Member States.
The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment is responsible for the implementing of the regulation and putting in place the legal framework for the GI protection system in Ireland. This includes:
- designating national competent authorities for the national registration phase and for the control and enforcement of GIs
- putting in place control measures for the verification of products protected by a GI
- establishing measures to stop and prevent the use of names that contravene a protected GI
The administration of the craft and industrial protects GI protection system
Applications for registration of GIs can be submitted by a producer group consisting of producers that have agreed to act collectively in relation to the production of a specific product in a defined geographical area. It is also possible for a single producer to be considered an applicant; however, a single producer must ensure that the geographical area refers to a particular part of a territory and not to private property boundaries. An applicant may also be a local or regional authority or a private entity designated by an EU Member State. Joint applications are also possible for products that originate in a cross-border geographical area.
The registration of GIs involves a two-phase registration procedure, the first phase with the national competent authority and a second phase with the EUIPO. The Intellectual Property Office of Ireland (IPOI) will be designated as the competent authority for the national registration phase in Ireland. Following the successful completion of the national phase of registration, applications will be forwarded to the EUIPO for the second phase of the registration procedures. The EUIPO will make the final decision on whether to grant or refuse the registration of a GI.
An application for GI protection for craft and industrial products must include:
- a product specification detailing specific information about the product, such as a description of the product, production methods, link between the product and the geographical area and evidence that the product originates in the defined geographical area
- a single document summarising the product specification
- certain accompanying documentation, for example, contact details of the applicant and national competent authorities
The EUIPO is the EU authority with responsibility for managing the registration of GIs for craft and industrial products at EU level. It will establish a GIPortal digital system for the filing of GI applications for craft and industrial products and the portal will be available from 1 December 2025. The EUIPO will also establish and manage a Union Register of GIs for craft and industrial products.
Once a GI is registered and published in the Union Register, producers can use the following Union symbol on the product and its labelling.
Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) logo
Further information on this new EU GI protection system can be found on the EUIPO’s GI Hub. The hub acts as a one-stop shop for information on GIs. Information is also available on the European Commission's website.