Information notice — Public consultation — Geographical indications from Georgia
Date: 2013-05-22
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Georgia, agreement (EU), cheese, designation of origin, foodstuff, product designation, revision of an agreement








C_2013142EN.01000801.xml










22.5.2013   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 142/8





INFORMATION NOTICE — PUBLIC CONSULTATION
Geographical indications from Georgia
2013/C 142/07
The Agreement between the EU and Georgia on protection of geographical indications of agricultural products and foodstuffs entered into force on 1 April 2012 (1).
Article 3(1) of the abovementioned agreement foresees the possibility for the parties to add new geographical indications (GIs) to be protected in Annexes III and IV in accordance with the procedure set out in Article 11(3). In this context, the protection in the European Union, as geographical indications, of the Georgian names set out below is under consideration.
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 e-mail address:
AGRI-B3-GI@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 foodstuff (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 and repealing Council Regulation (EEC) No 1576/89 (3), or contained in the agreements the Union has concluded with the following countries:






—


Australia (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 (4)),










—


Chile (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 (5)),










—


South Africa (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 (6), 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 (7)),










—


Switzerland (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 (8) and in particular the Agreement between the European Community and the Swiss Federation on trade in agricultural products — Annex 7),










—


Mexico (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 (9)),










—


Korea (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 (10)),










—


Central America (Agreement establishing an Association between the European Union and its Member States, on the one hand, and Central America on the other (11)),










—


Colombia and Peru (Trade Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and Colombia and Peru, of the other part (12)),










—


former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (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 Communities 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 (13)),










—


Croatia (Council Decision 2001/918/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 Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Croatia, 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 (14)),










—


Canada (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 (15)),










—


United States of America (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 (16)),










—


Albania (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 (17)),










—


Montenegro (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 (18)),










—


Bosnia and Herzegovina (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 (19)),










—


Serbia (Council Decision 2010/36/EU 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 (20)),










—


Moldova (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 (21));














(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;










(e)


or 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 eventual protection of these names in the European Union is subject to the successful conclusion of the review under the abovementioned Article 3 and subsequent legal act.
No budgetary implications.

List of GIs for agricultural products and foodstuffs
 (22)







Type of product


Name as registered in Georgia




Cheese




 (Svanuri Sulguni)



Cheese




 (Kobi)



Cheese




 (Imeruli Kveli)



Cheese




 (Meskhuri Chlechili)



Cheese




 (Dambalkhacho)



Cheese




 (Tushuri Guda)



Cultured milk product




 (Matsoni)



Cheese




 (Guda)



Cheese




 (Megruli Sulguni)



Cheese




 (Sulguni)



Cheese




 (Kartuli Kveli)



Cheese




 (Tenili)



Cheese




 (Acharuli Chlechili)



Cheese




 (Chogi)



Candy




 (Churchkhela)



Spirits




 (Chacha)





(1)  OJ L 93, 30.3.2012, p. 3.

(2)  OJ L 343, 14.12.2012, p. 1.

(3)  OJ L 39, 13.2.2008, p. 16.

(4)  OJ L 28, 30.1.2009, p. 1.

(5)  OJ L 352, 30.12.2002, p. 1.

(6)  OJ L 28, 30.1.2002, p. 3.

(7)  OJ L 28, 30.1.2002, p. 112.

(8)  OJ L 114, 30.4.2002, p. 1.

(9)  OJ L 152, 11.6.1997, p. 15.

(10)  OJ L 127, 14.5.2011, p. 1.

(11)  OJ L 346, 15.12.2012, p. 3.

(12)  OJ L 354, 21.12.2012, p. 3.

(13)  OJ L 342, 27.12.2001, p. 6.

(14)  OJ L 342, 27.12.2001, p. 42.

(15)  OJ L 35, 6.2.2004, p. 1.

(16)  OJ L 87, 24.3.2006, p. 1.

(17)  OJ L 239, 1.9.2006, p. 1.

(18)  OJ L 345, 28.12.2007, p. 1.

(19)  OJ L 169, 30.6.2008, p. 10.

(20)  OJ L 28, 30.1.2010, p. 1.

(21)  OJ L 10, 15.1.2013, p. 3.

(22)  List provided by the Georgian authorities in the framework of the ongoing review, registered in Georgia according to Law on Appellations of Origin and Geographical Indications of Goods of 1 November 1999 (http://sakpatenti.org.ge/index.php?lang_id=ENG&sec_id=322).