19 August 2021 News

Guerrieri F., The Farm to Fork strategy as an external driver for change: possible impacts on nested GI rule systems, Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice, Volume 16, Issue 4-5, April-May 2021, Pages 331–340

Geographical indications (GIs) as distinctive signs and catalysts for local development identify local, national, European and international governance systems, regulated by heterogeneous rules and stakeholders. These rule systems can evolve, and their robustness and resilience can be challenged by external drivers. Among the objectives of the new Farm to Fork strategy of the Green Deal, the European Commission envisages the introduction of sustainability criteria in the EU GI sui generis system. This article gives an overview of the possible impact of these criteria on the GI rule systems at the local, national and EU level. It also describes some of the implications of the reform for producers’ groups and for national and EU authorities.