Study on control and enforcement rules for geographical indication (GI) protection for non-agricultural products in the EU

This study looks into control and enforcement of geographically rooted non-agricultural products protected by intellectual property mechanisms. Based on desk research, stakeholder interviews and an electronic survey conducted for a research sample of 30 real-life products (from several EU Member States and non-EU countries), six existing protection systems are investigated with regard to their control and enforcement mechanisms, with a case study produced for each system: 1) EU collective marks, 2) EU certification marks, 3) national certification marks, 4) national sui generis geographical indication (GI) protection of non-agricultural products, 5) EU sui generis GI protection of agri-food and drink products, and 6) protection systems in non-EU countries. The six protection systems are then compared and analysed with regard to their effectiveness, cost-efficiency and relevance. Lastly, three models for control and enforcement under a potential EU-wide system for the protection of non-agricultural geographically rooted products are developed. Each model represents a different degree of involvement by public authorities in the control and enforcement process.