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News article19 April 2022

Intellectual property protection for EU produced craft and industrial products

Agricultural products are specially protected by European Union law. This geographical indications (GI) system so far has not applied to craft and industrial products that are created using traditional practices from a specific region, such as certain ceramics, clothing, jewellery or furniture. Building on the success of the existing GI system, the European Commission (EC) is now putting a complementary protection system into place.

Under the new framework, the regulation will apply to specific products such as Murano glass, Donegal tweed, or Solingen cutlery. As a result, only tweed produced in the Donegal region of Ireland and with particular production methods, for example, could carry the appellation Donegal tweed. This will help producers in protecting and enforcing the intellectual property rights of their products across the EU. The regulation will also support the development of Europe's rural and other regions by providing incentives for producers, especially SMEs, to invest in new, authentic products.

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Publication date
19 April 2022