Protection of geographical indications
1. Geographical indications protected under this Regulation may be used by any operator marketing a spirit drink produced in conformity with the corresponding product specification.
2. Geographical indications protected under this Regulation shall be protected against:
(a) any direct or indirect commercial use of a registered name in respect of products not covered by the registration where those products are comparable to the products registered under that name or where using the name exploits the reputation of the protected name, including where those products are used as an ingredient;
(b) any misuse, imitation or evocation, even if the true origin of the products or services is indicated or if the protected name is translated or accompanied by an expression such as ‘style’, ‘type’, ‘method’, ‘as produced in’, ‘imitation’, ‘flavour’, ‘like’ or similar, including when those products are used as an ingredient;
(c) any other false or misleading indication as to the provenance, origin, nature or essential qualities of the product in the description, presentation or labelling of the product liable to convey a false impression as to the origin of the product;
(d) any other practice liable to mislead the consumer as to the true origin of the product.
3. Geographical indications protected under this Regulation shall not become generic in the Union.
4. The protection referred to in paragraph 2 shall also apply with regard to goods entering the customs territory of the Union without being released for free circulation there.
Article 22
Product specification
1. A geographical indication protected under this Regulation shall comply with a product specification which shall include at least:
(a) the name to be protected as a geographical indication, as it is used, whether in trade or in common language, only in the languages which are or were historically used to describe the specific product in the defined geographical area, in the original script and in Latin transcription if different;
(b) the category of the spirit drink or the term ‘spirit drink’ if the spirit drink does not comply with the requirements laid down for the categories of spirit drinks set out in Annex I;
(c) a description of the characteristics of the spirit drink, including the raw materials from which it is produced, if appropriate, as well as the principal physical, chemical or organoleptic characteristics of the product and the specific characteristics of the product compared to spirit drinks of the same category;
(d) the definition of the geographical area delimited with regard to the link referred to in point (f);
(e) a description of the method of producing the spirit drink and, where appropriate, the authentic and unvarying local production methods;
(f) details establishing the link between a given quality, reputation or other characteristic of the spirit drink and its geographical origin;
(g) the names and addresses of the competent authorities or, if available, the names and addresses of the bodies that verify compliance with the provisions of the product specification pursuant to Article 38 and their specific tasks;
(h) any specific labelling rule for the geographical indication in question.
Where applicable, requirements regarding packaging shall be included in the product specification, accompanied by a justification showing why the packaging must take place in the defined geographical area to safeguard quality, to ensure the origin or to ensure control, taking into account Union law, in particular Union law on the free movement of goods and the free provision of services.
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