Lex Delles, Luxembourg's Minister of the Economy, SMEs, Energy and Tourism;
Credit: © SIP / Claude Piscitelli
On Monday 9 September 2024, Luxembourg's Ministry of the Economy presented the results of the public consultation on the protection of geographical indications for craft and industrial products.
The ministry recalled that EU Regulation 2023/2411 on the protection of geographical indications for craft and industrial products came into force in November 2023. The regulation will be applicable from 1 December 2025 for all 27 Member States of the European Union.
Luxembourg currently does not have a specific system for the protection of such geographical indications and must provide for the establishment of a new national legislative framework as part of the implementation of the European regulation.
In order to gather the opinions of all interested parties, the Ministry of the Economy launched a public consultation between 26 April and 1 July 2024. The aim was to identify potential products that would meet the conditions provided for by this European regulation and to assess the potential of this new system at the national level.
The ministry has now drawn up the results of this public consultation, which found local interest in the protection of geographical indications for craft and industrial products to be low. The results of this conclusion will make it possible to choose the most appropriate options for the implementation of administrative procedures relating to the registration of this new right recognised for the benefit of certain craft and industrial products.
Luxembourg's Minister of the Economy, SMEs, Energy and Tourism, Lex Delles, stressed that "unlike crémants, wines and honey, protected by means of geographical indications for agricultural products or for wines, the public consultation confirmed that the interest in the protection of geographical indications for craft and industrial products is low in Luxembourg. This is why we consider that it is not justified to set up all the infrastructure necessary for such a system in the Grand Duchy". He continued: "As provided for by the European legislator, we have just made the request to benefit from a derogation, which, if granted, provides for the direct filing of registration applications with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) through the direct registration procedure".
The European regulation in question provides for the establishment of a specific protection system for craft and industrial products, inspired by the system for the protection of geographical indications for food and wines. The objective of this regulation is to protect products such as textiles, lace, glass, porcelain, jewellery and cutlery, among others.
