EN Official Journal of the European Union C 393/30

INFORMATION NOTICE — PUBLIC CONSULTATION

Geographical indications from Japan

(2015/C 393/04)

Within the ongoing negotiations with Japan for a Free Trade Agreement (hereafter ‘the Agreement’) including a chapter on geographical indications, the Japanese authorities have presented, for protection under the Agreement, the attached list of geographical indications. The European Commission is currently considering whether these geographical indications shall be protected under the Agreement as geographical indications within the meaning of Article 22(1) of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights.

The Commission invites any Member State or third country or any natural or legal person having a legitimate interest, resident or established in a Member State or in a third country, to submit oppositions to such protection by lodging a duly substantiated statement.

Statements of opposition must reach the Commission within two months of the date of this publication. Statements of opposition should be sent to the following email address: AGRI-A2@ec.europa.eu

Statements of opposition shall be examined only if they are received within the time limit set out above 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 is likely to mislead the consumer as to the true origin of the product;

(b) be wholly or partially homonymous with that of a name already protected in the Union under 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 (1), Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 establishing a common organisation of the markets in agricultural products (2) and Regulation (EC) No 110/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 January 2008 on the definition, description, presentation, labelling and the protection of geographical indications of spirit drinks (3), or contained in the agreements the Union has concluded with the following countries: — Australia (4) — Chile (5) — South Africa (6) — Switzerland (7) — Mexico (8) — Korea (9) — Central America (10) — Colombia and Peru (11) — former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (12) — Canada (13) — United States (14) — Albania (15) — Montenegro (16) — Bosnia and Herzegovina (17) — Serbia (18) — Moldova (19) — Georgia (20)

(c) in the light of a trade mark’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 trade mark or the existence of products which have been legally on the market for at least five years preceding the date of the publication of this notice; or

(e) if they can give details from which it can be concluded that the name for which protection is considered is generic.

The criteria referred to above shall be evaluated in relation to the territory of the Union, which in the case of intellectual property rights refers only to the territory or territories where the said rights are protected. The possible protection of these names in the European Union is subject to the successful conclusion of these negotiations and subsequent legal act.

List of Geographical Indications (21)

Name of the Japanese GI Product category (Yamanashi) Wine (Hakusan) Sake (alcoholic beverage made of rice) (Satsuma) Shochu (distilled liquor made of rice and sweet potato) (Ryukyu) Shochu (distilled liquor made of rice) (Kuma) Shochu (distilled liquor made of rice) (Iki) Shochu (distilled liquor made of barley and rice)

(1) OJ L 343, 14.12.2012, p. 1.

(2) OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 671.

(3) OJ L 39, 13.2.2008, p. 16.

(4) Council Decision 2009/49/EC of 28 November 2008 concerning the conclusion of an Agreement between the European Community and Australia on trade in wine (OJ L 28, 30.1.2009, p. 1).

(5) Council Decision 2002/979/EC of 18 November 2002 on the signature and provisional application of certain provisions of an Agreement establishing an association between the European Community and its Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Chile, of the other part (OJ L 352, 30.12.2002, p. 1).

(6) Council Decision 2002/51/EC of 21 January 2002 on the conclusion of an Agreement between the European Community and the Republic of South Africa on trade in wine (OJ L 28, 30.1.2002, p. 3) and Council Decision 2002/52/EC of 21 January 2002 on the conclusion of an Agreement between the European Community and the Republic of South Africa on trade in spirits (OJ L 28, 30.1.2002, p. 112).

(7) Decision 2002/309/EC, Euratom of the Council, and of the Commission as regards the Agreement on Scientific and Technological Cooperation of 4 April 2002 on the conclusion of seven Agreements with the Swiss Confederation (OJ L 114, 30.4.2002, p. 1) and in particular the Agreement between the European Community and the Swiss Federation on trade in agricultural products — Annex 7.

(8) Council Decision 97/361/EC of 27 May 1997 concerning the conclusion of an Agreement between the European Community and the United Mexican States on the mutual recognition and protection of designations for spirit drinks (OJ L 152, 11.6.1997, p. 15).

(9) Council Decision 2011/265/EU of 16 September 2010 on the signing, on behalf of the European Union, and provisional application of the Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Korea, of the other part (OJ L 127, 14.5.2011, p. 1).

(10) Agreement establishing an Association between the European Union and its Member States, on the one hand, and Central America on the other (OJ L 346, 15.12.2012, p. 3).

(11) Trade Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and Colombia and Peru, of the other part (OJ L 354, 21.12.2012, p. 3).

(12) Council Decision 2001/916/EC of 3 December 2001 on the conclusion of an Additional Protocol adjusting the trade aspects of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement between the European Community and their Member States, of the one part, and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, of the other part, to take account of the outcome of the negotiations between the parties on reciprocal preferential concessions for certain wines, the reciprocal recognition, protection and control of wine names and the reciprocal recognition, protection and control of designations for spirits and aromatised drinks (OJ L 342, 27.12.2001, p. 6).

(13) Council Decision 2004/91/EC of 30 July 2003 on the conclusion of the Agreement between the European Community and Canada on trade in wines and spirit drinks (OJ L 35, 6.2.2004, p. 1).

(14) Council Decision 2006/232/EC of 20 December 2005 on the conclusion of the Agreement between the European Community and the United States of America on trade in wine (OJ L 87, 24.3.2006, p. 1).

(15) Council Decision 2006/580/EC of 12 June 2006 concerning the signing and conclusion of the Interim Agreement on trade and trade-related matters between the European Community, of the one part, and the Republic of Albania, of the other part — Protocol 3 on reciprocal preferential concessions for certain wines, the reciprocal recognition, protection and control of wine, spirit drinks and aromatised wine names (OJ L 239, 1.9.2006, p. 1).

(16) Council Decision 2007/855/EC of 15 October 2007 concerning the signing and conclusion of the Interim Agreement on trade and trade-related matters between the European Community, of the one part, and the Republic of Montenegro, of the other part (OJ L 345, 28.12.2007, p. 1).

(17) Council Decision 2008/474/EC of 16 June 2008 on the signing and conclusion of the Interim Agreement on trade and trade-related matters between the European Community, of the one part, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, of the other part (OJ L 169, 30.6.2008, p. 10) — Protocol 6.

(18) Council Decision 2010/36/EC of 29 April 2008 concerning the signing and conclusion of the Interim Agreement on trade and trade-related matters between the European Community, of the one part, and the Republic of Serbia, of the other part (OJ L 28, 30.1.2010, p. 1).

(19) Council Decision 2013/7/EU of 3 December 2012 on the conclusion of the Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Moldova on the protection of geographical indications of agricultural products and foodstuffs (OJ L 10, 15.1.2013, p. 3).

(20) Council Decision 2012/164/EU of 14 February 2012 on the conclusion of the Agreement between the European Union and Georgia on the protection of geographical indications of agricultural products and foodstuffs (OJ L 93, 30.3.2012, p. 1).

(21) List provided by the Japanese authorities in the framework of the on-going negotiations, registered in Japan.