The European Commission recently launched a Public Consultation on the EU-wide protection of geographical indications for non-agricultural products (such as handicrafts and industrial goods).

Since there is no harmonised mechanism for the protection of such products, the IP Action Plan adopted on 25 November 2020 announces that the Commission will, on the basis of a thorough impact assessment of its potential costs and benefits, consider the feasibility of creating an efficient and transparent EU protection system.

The purpose of the consultation is to collect views of all relevant stakeholders on the issues related to the existing legal protection of these products within the internal market; on the benefits and risk of EU action; on the available policy options, including the control and enforcement of a future EU-protection system; and on the potential impacts of these policy options.

ECTA already contributed to the Inception Impact Assessment (IIA) last year and will also provide input to this consultation. The results will contribute to the decision on the best way forward.