Credit: Luxembourg’s Ministry of the Economy
On Friday 26 April 2024, aiming to collect the opinions of all interested parties, the Office for Intellectual Property (Office de la propriété intellectuelle - OPI) of Luxembourg’s Ministry of the Economy is launching a public consultation concerning the implementation at the national level of the European regulation relating to the protection of geographical indications for artisanal and industrial products.
The European regulation relating to the protection of geographical indications for artisanal and industrial products entered into force in November 2023. It will be applicable from 1 December 2025 for all Member States of the European Union. This European regulation aims to establish a specific protection system for artisanal and industrial products, inspired by the system of protection of geographical indications for food and wine products.
Artisanal and industrial products are defined as products made by hand (either entirely by hand or using manual tools, digital tools or mechanical means) or manufactured in a standardised manner.
The objective of this European regulation is to establish a specific protection system capable of promoting and enhancing local know-how, cultural heritage and the territory. It aims to protect many products such as textiles, lace, glass, porcelain, jewellery, cutlery, etc.
Geographical indications make it possible to obtain protection for the name of a craft or industrial product. They can be used by any producer who respects their specifications. This right can be invoked against third parties who attempt to use the name for a product which does not correspond to the description given by the geographical indication.
Objective of the public consultation
The Grand Duchy does not currently have a specific protection system for artisanal and industrial products.
To collect the opinions of all interested parties, the Ministry of the Economy noted it decided to launch this consultation to identify potential products which would meet the conditions provided for by this European regulation and to assess the potential of this new regime at the national level.
How to participate in this consultation
All interested stakeholders will be able to participate in this public consultation, open until 1 July 2024 at 12:00, by returning the questionnaire available at the following link (FR) to the email address consultation-opi@eco.etat.lu.
All opinions received will then be analysed by the Ministry of the Economy’s OPI. The conclusions of the results of this consultation will be communicated later.
