EN Official Journal of the European Union L 274/3

AGREEMENT

between the European Union and Iceland on the protection of geographical indications for agricultural products and foodstuffs

THE EUROPEAN UNION,

of the one part, and

ICELAND

of the other part,

hereinafter referred to as the ‘Parties’,

CONSIDERING that the Parties agree to promote between each other a harmonious development of the geographical indications as defined in Article 22(1) of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) and to foster trade in agricultural products and foodstuffs originating in the Parties' territories,

CONSIDERING that the Agreement on the European Economic Area (EEA Agreement) provides for the mutual recognition and protection of geographical indications of wines, aromatised wine products and spirit drinks,

HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

Scope

1. This Agreement applies to the recognition and protection of geographical indications for agricultural products and foodstuffs other than wines, aromatised wine products and spirit drinks originating in the Parties' territories.

2. Geographical indications of a Party shall be protected by the other Party under this Agreement only if covered by the scope of the legislation referred to in Article 2.

Article 2

Established geographical indications

1. Having examined the legislation of Iceland listed in Part A of Annex I, the European Union concludes that that legislation meets the elements laid down in Part B of Annex I.

2. Having examined the legislation of the European Union listed in Part A of Annex I, Iceland concludes that that legislation meets the elements laid down in Part B of Annex I.

3. Iceland, after having completed an objection procedure, in accordance with Part C of Annex I, and after having examined the geographical indications for agricultural products and foodstuffs of the European Union listed in Annex II which have been registered by the European Union under the legislation referred to in paragraph 2, shall protect those geographical indications according to the level of protection laid down in this Agreement.

4. The European Union, after having completed an objection procedure, in accordance with Part C of Annex I, and after having examined the geographical indications for agricultural products and foodstuffs of Iceland listed in Annex II which have been registered by Iceland under the legislation referred to in paragraph 1, shall protect those geographical indications according to the level of protection laid down in this Agreement.

Article 3

Addition of new geographical indications

1. The Parties agree on the possibility to add new geographical indications to be protected in Annex II in accordance with Article 10(3) after having completed the objection procedure, in accordance with Part C of Annex I, and after having examined the geographical indications as referred to in Article 2(3) and (4) to the satisfaction of both Parties.

2. A Party shall not be required to protect as a geographical indication a name that conflicts with the name of a plant variety or an animal breed and as a result is likely to mislead consumers as to the true origin of the product.

Article 4

Scope of protection of geographical indications

1. The geographical indications listed in Annex II, including those added pursuant to Article 3, shall be protected against:

(a) any direct or indirect commercial use of a protected name: (i) for comparable products not compliant with the product specification of the protected name, or (ii) if such use exploits the reputation of a geographical indication;

(b) any misuse, imitation or evocation, even if the true origin of the product is indicated or if the protected name is translated, transcribed, transliterated or accompanied by an expression such as ‘style’, ‘type’, ‘method’, ‘as produced in’, ‘imitation’, ‘flavour’, ‘like’ or similar;

(c) any other false or misleading indication as to the provenance, origin, nature or essential qualities of the product, on the inner or outer packaging, advertising material or documents relating to the product concerned, and the packing of the product in a container liable to convey a false impression as to its origin;

(d) any other practice liable to mislead the consumer as to the true origin of the product.

2. Protected geographical indications shall not become generic in the territories of the Parties.

3. If geographical indications are wholly or partly homonymous, protection shall be granted to each indication if it has been used in good faith and with due regard for local and traditional usage and the actual risk of confusion. The Parties shall mutually decide the practical conditions of use under which the homonymous geographical indications will be differentiated from each other, taking into account the need to ensure equitable treatment of the producers concerned and that consumers are not misled. A homonymous name which misleads the consumer into believing that products come from another territory shall not be registered even if the name is accurate as far as the actual territory, region or place of origin of the product in question is concerned.

4. Where a Party, in the context of negotiations with a third country, proposes to protect a geographical indication of that third country, and the name is homonymous with a geographical indication of the other Party, the latter shall be informed and be given the opportunity to comment before the name is protected.

5. Nothing in this Agreement shall oblige a Party to protect a geographical indication of the other Party which is not or ceases to be protected in its country of origin. The Parties shall notify each other if a geographical indication ceases to be protected in its country of origin. Such notification shall take place in accordance with Article 10(3).

6. Nothing in this Agreement shall prejudice the right of any person to use, in the course of trade, that person's name or the name of that person's predecessor in business, except where such name is used in such a manner as to mislead the consumers.

Article 5

Right to use geographical indications

1. A name protected under this Agreement may be used by any operator marketing agricultural products and foodstuffs conforming to the corresponding specification.

2. Once a geographical indication is protected under this Agreement, the use of the protected name shall not be subject to any registration of users or further charges.

Article 6

Relationship with trademarks

1. The Parties shall refuse to register or shall invalidate, ex officio or at the request of any interested party in conformity with the legislation of each Party, a trademark that corresponds to any of the situations referred to in Article 4(1) in relation to a protected geographical indication for like products, provided the application to register the trademark has been submitted after the date of application for registration of the geographical indication in the territory concerned.

2. For geographical indications referred to in Article 2, the date of application for registration shall be the date of entry into force of this Agreement.

3. For geographical indications referred to in Article 3, the date of application for registration shall be the date of the transmission of a request to the other Party to protect a geographical indication.

4. The Parties shall have no obligation to protect a geographical indication pursuant to Article 3 where, in the light of a reputed or well-known trademark, protection is liable to mislead consumers as to the true identity of the product.

5. Without prejudice to paragraph 4, the Parties shall protect geographical indications also where a prior trademark exists. A prior trademark shall mean a trademark the use of which corresponds to one of the situations referred to in Article 4(1), which has been applied for, registered or established by use, if that possibility is provided for by the legislation concerned, in good faith, in the territory of one of the Parties before the date on which the application for protection of the geographical indication is submitted by the other Party under this Agreement. Such a trademark may continue to be used and renewed irrespective of the protection of the geographical indication, provided that no grounds for the trademark's invalidity or revocation exist in the trademarks legislation of the Parties.

Article 7

Enforcement

The authorities of the Parties shall appropriately enforce the protection provided for in Articles 4 to 6 in order to prevent and, where appropriate, stop any unlawful use of the protected geographical indications. They shall also enforce this protection at the request of an interested party.

Article 8

General rules

1. The import, export and marketing of any product referred to in Articles 2 and 3 shall be conducted in compliance with the laws and regulations applying in the territory of the Party where the products are placed on the market.

2. Any matter arising from product specifications of registered geographical indications shall be dealt with in the Joint Committee established pursuant to Article 10.

3. The registration of geographical indications protected under this Agreement may only be cancelled by the Party where the product originates.

4. A product specification referred to in this Agreement shall be the specification approved by the authorities of the Party in the territory where the product originates, including any amendments also approved.

Article 9

Cooperation and transparency

1. The Parties shall, either directly or through the Joint Committee established pursuant to Article 10, maintain contact on all matters relating to the implementation and functioning of this Agreement. In particular, a Party may request from the other Party information relating to product specifications and their amendment, and contact points for control provisions.

2. Each Party may make publicly available the product specifications or a summary thereof and contact points for control provisions corresponding to the protected geographical indications of the other Party pursuant to this Agreement.

Article 10

Joint Committee

1. Both Parties agree to set up a Joint Committee consisting of representatives of the European Union and Iceland to monitor developments relating to this Agreement and to intensify cooperation and dialogue on geographical indications.

2. The Joint Committee shall adopt its decisions by consensus. It shall determine its own rules of procedure. It shall meet at the request of either Party, alternately in the European Union and in Iceland, at a time and a place and in a manner (which may include by videoconference) mutually determined by the Parties, but no later than 90 days after the request has been made.

3. The Joint Committee shall also see to the proper functioning of this Agreement and may consider any matter related to its implementation and operation. In particular, it shall be responsible for:

(a) amending Part A of Annex I as regards the references to the law applicable on the Parties' territories;

(b) amending Part B of Annex I as regards the elements for registration and control of geographical indications;

(c) amending Annex II as regards geographical indications;

(d) exchanging information on legislative and policy developments on geographical indications and any other matter of mutual interest in the area of geographical indications;

(e) exchanging information on geographical indications for the purpose of considering their protection in accordance with this Agreement.

Article 11

Entry into force

1. This Agreement shall be ratified or approved by the Parties in accordance with their internal procedures.

2. Subject to paragraph 3, this Agreement shall enter into force on the first day of the first month following the date on which the Parties have notified each other that the procedures referred to in paragraph 1 have been completed.

3. If this date is before the date of the entry into force of the Agreement in the form of an exchange of letters between the European Union and Iceland concerning additional trade preferences in agricultural products reached on the basis of Article 19 of the EEA Agreement, done at Brussels on the twenty third day of March in the year two thousand and seventeen, this Agreement shall only enter into force on the same date as the latter.

Съставено в Брюксел на двадесет и трети март през две хиляди и седемнадесета година. Hecho en Bruselas, el veintitrés de marzo de dos mil diecisiete. V Bruselu dne dvacátého třetího března dva tisíce sedmnáct. Udfærdiget i Bruxelles den treogtyvende marts to tusind og sytten. Geschehen zu Brüssel am dreiundzwanzigsten März zweitausendsiebzehn. Kahe tuhande seitsmeteistkümnenda aasta märtsikuu kahekümne kolmandal päeval Brüsselis. Έγινε στις Βρυξέλλες, στις είκοσι τρεις Μαρτίου δύο χιλιάδες δεκαεπτά. Done at Brussels on the twenty third day of March in the year two thousand and seventeen. Fait à Bruxelles, le vingt trois mars deux mille dix-sept. Sastavljeno u Bruxellesu dvadeset trećeg ožujka godine dvije tisuće sedamnaeste. Fatto a Bruxelles, addì ventitré marzo duemiladiciassette. Briselē, divi tūkstoši septiņpadsmitā gada divdesmit trešajā martā. Priimta du tūkstančiai septynioliktų metų kovo dvidešimt trečią dieną Briuselyje. Kelt Brüsszelben, a kétezer-tizenhetedik év március havának huszonharmadik napján. Magħmul fi Brussell, fit-tlieta u għoxrin jum ta’ Marzu fis-sena elfejn u sbatax. Gedaan te Brussel, drieëntwintig maart tweeduizend zeventien. Sporządzono w Brukseli dnia dwudziestego trzeciego marca roku dwa tysiące siedemnastego. Feito em Bruxelas, em vinte e três de março de dois mil e dezassete. Întocmit la Bruxelles la douăzeci și trei martie două mii șaptesprezece. V Bruseli dvadsiateho tretieho marca dvetisícsedemnásť. V Bruslju, dne triindvajsetega marca leta dva tisoč sedemnajst. Tehty Brysselissä kahdentenakymmenentenäkolmantena päivänä maaliskuuta vuonna kaksituhattaseitsemäntoista. Som skedde i Bryssel den tjugotredje mars år tjugohundrasjutton. За Европейския съюз Рог la Unión Europea Za Evropskou unii For Den Europæiske Union Für die Europäische Union Euroopa Liidu nimel Για την Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση For the European Union Pour l'Union européenne Za Europsku uniju Per l'Unione europea Eiropas Savienības vārdā – Europos Sąjungos vardu Az Európai Unió részéről Għall-Unjoni Ewropea Voor de Europese Unie W imieniu Unii Europejskiej Pela União Europeia Pentru Uniunea Europeană Za Európsku úniu Za Evropsko unijo Euroopan unionin puolesta För Europeiska unionen За Исландия Por Islandia Za Island For Island Für Island Islandi nimel Για τηv Ισλανδία For Iceland Pour l'Islande Za Island Per l'Islanda Islandes vārdā – Islandijos vardu Izland részéről Għall-Iżlanda Voor IJsland W imieniu Islandii Pela Islândia Pentru Islanda Za Island Za Islandijo Islannin puolesta För Island

ANNEX I PART A The Parties' legislation Legislation of the European Union: Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 November 2012 on quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 664/2014 of 18 December 2013 supplementing Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to the establishment of the Union symbols for protected designations of origin, protected geographical indications and traditional specialities guaranteed and with regard to certain rules on sourcing, certain procedural rules and certain additional transitional rules Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 668/2014 of 13 June 2014 laying down rules for the application of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council on quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs Legislation of Iceland: Act on the protection of product names as designation of origin, geographical indications or traditional speciality, 2014 No 130, 22 December PART B Elements for registration and control of geographical indications as referred to in Article 2(1) and (2) 1. A register listing geographical indications protected in the territory. 2. An administrative process verifying that geographical indications identify a good as originating in a territory, region or locality of one or more states, where a given quality, reputation or other characteristic of the good is essentially attributable to its geographical origin. 3. A requirement that a registered name shall correspond to a specific product or products for which a product specification is laid down, which can only be amended by due administrative process. 4. Control provisions applying to production. 5. A right for any producer established in the area who submits to the system of controls to produce the product labelled with the protected name if that producer complies with the product specification. 6. An objection procedure that allows the legitimate interests of prior users of names to be taken into account, whether those names are protected as a form of intellectual property or not. 7. A rule that protected names may not become generic. 8. Provisions on the registration, which may include refusal of registration, of terms homonymous or partly homonymous with registered terms, terms customary in common language as the common name for goods, terms comprising or including the names of plant varieties and animal breeds. Such provisions shall take into account the legitimate interests of all parties concerned. PART C Criteria to be included in the objection procedure referred to in Article 2 1. List of name(s) with, where applicable, the corresponding transcription into Latin characters. 2. Information about the product class. 3. Invitation to any Member State, in the case of the European Union, or third country or any natural or legal persons having a legitimate interest, established or resident in a Member State in the case of the European Union, in Iceland or in a third country to submit objections to such protection by lodging a duly substantiated statement. 4. Statements of objection must reach the European Commission or the Icelandic Government (the Icelandic Food and Veterinary Authority (MAST)) within two months from the date of publication of the information notice. 5. Statements of objection shall be admissible only if they are received within the time-limit set out in point 4 and if they show that the protection of the name proposed would: (a) conflict with the name of a plant variety or an animal breed and as a result be likely to mislead the consumer as to the true origin of the product; (b) conflict with a homonymous name which would mislead the consumer into believing that products come from another territory; (c) in the light of a trademark's reputation and renown and the length of time it has been used, be liable to mislead the consumer as to the true identity of the product; (d) jeopardise the existence of an entirely or partly identical name or of a trademark or the existence of products which have been legally on the market for at least five years preceding the date of the publication of the information notice; (e) conflict with a name that is considered generic. 6. The criteria referred to in point 5 shall be evaluated in relation to the territory of the European Union, which in the case of intellectual property rights refers only to the territory or territories where the rights are protected, or in relation to the territory of Iceland.