The Debate Between the European Parliament and the Commission on the Definition of Protected Designation of Origin: Why the Parliament Is Right

Abstract

On 1 June 2018 the EU Commission presented a Proposal for the reform of the EU CAP, including different aspects of the EU sui generis GI rules. In particular, this Institution has put forward an amendment to the definition of protected designations of origin (PDO), according to which the ''human element'' of the link between the product and the place, that has always been a key part of the concept of appellation of origin/PDO, should become optional, to be taken into consideration only ''when relevant''. Allegedly, this amendment should enhance clarity and simplicity within the EU GI system. The present opinion disagrees and invites the Commission to reconsider the proposed reform. Indeed, on the one hand, this seems to be based on a disputable notion of the PDO origin link; on the other, it is likely to have a modest impact on the structure of the applications as the human element will always be relevant in order to establish a convincing terroir link. Thus, the goals that the Commission is determined to pursue-namely, the simplification of the system and the acceleration of the registration procedure-will hardly be achieved. More specifically, this opinion submits that this specific amendment concerning the definition of a PDO should not be included in the future reform of the EU Law of Geographical Indications because: (1) it is based on an idea of GI protection that was discarded with the introduction of the EU sui generis GI regime in 1992; (2) it adopts a disputable concept of terroir; (3) it could potentially weaken the foundations of PDO and makes it less justifiable with respect to third countries; and (4) it is apparently inconsistent with the recent reform of the Lisbon Agreement, that the Commission itself is endorsing and recommending to the EU Member States. This opinion has been developed within the context of the work of the Max Planck GI Research Team. Special thanks to Flavia Guerrieri and Dr. Suelen Carls for their valuable feedback.

European Integration Processes in the EU GI System—A Long-Term Review of EU Regulation for GIs

“…The EU GI system is addressed by various scientific disciplines even if the agricultural economic perspective is of particular prominence here. This is also because the EU GI system goes back to French wine law and involved the idea of the terroir [13][14][15][16][17].…”

“…The discourse on GIs is accompanied by a legal debate [17,[51][52][53] that reveals questions of demarcation and discusses the edges of the legal framework as well as illustrating the changeability of hard institutions.…”

“…The empirical data were collected between January 2019 and October 2020. Over the equivalent of around two months (29 April to 17 May 2019, 21 October to 25 October 2019 and 27 January to 28 February 2020), many expert interviews and participant observations took place in Brussels. The intensive study of the legal matter took place mainly in the first half of 2019.…”

A geospatial inventory of regulatory information for wine protected designations of origin in Europe

“…The quality scheme for PDO wines was set up to protect the unique characteristics of specific wine products and to promote their high quality 6 . It includes strict regulations regarding cultivation and production processes together with the definition of the area where the grapes must be cultivated.…”

L'appréciation de la brevetabilité des inventions mises en oeuvre par ordinateur par les juridictions françaises (The Assessment of the Patentability of Computer-Implemented Inventions by the French Courts)

“…The natural or cultural link between a product and its place of origin can be intense, involving the interwoven of natural and human factors (terroir link for PDOs) 111 , or a looser link involving natural or human factors (for PGIs). It results from the activity of a local producers' community, which "generated and accumulated across its history a collectively developed knowledge of production" rooted in a given geographical area 112 . This traditional and local knowledge has stirred up a legitimate expectation of quality among consumers regarding goods originating in the territory at issue 113 .…”