EC proposes intellectual property rights for craft and industrial products

The European Commission (EC) has proposed its first-ever framework to protect the intellectual property of craft and industrial products that rely on the originality and authenticity of traditional practices from their regions.

The framework will cover products such as Murano glass, Donegal tweed, porcelaine de Limoges, Solingen cutlery and Boleslawiec pottery, said the EC.

“While these products benefit from a European and sometimes global reputation and standing, producers have so far lacked an EU indication protection linking their products’ origin and reputation to their quality,” explained the Commission.

The EC said the new proposal draws on the success of the geographical indication system (GI) introduced for wine/spirit drinks and agricultural products. In March, the EC announced a plan to review this GI to increase its uptake across Europe.

The craft and industrial products regulation will make it easier for consumers to recognise the quality of such products and make more informed choices, said the EC.

Margrethe Vestager, executive vice-president for A Europe Fit for the Digital Age, said: “Many European regions hold an untapped potential for jobs and growth. Notably in the crafts and industrial sector, many SMEs have developed and refined manufacturing skills over generations, but lack incentives and resources to project them, especially across borders. The protection granted by geographical indications for craft and industrial products will encourage both regions and producers in their competition at a continental and global level.”

Commissioner Thierry Breton, responsible for the internal market, said: “Europe has an exceptional legacy of world-renown crafts and industrial products. It is time that these producers benefit from a new intellectual property right, like food and wine producers, that will increase trust and visibility for their products, guaranteeing authenticity and reputation. Today’s initiative will contribute to the creation of skilled jobs especially for SMEs and to the development of tourism also, in the more rural or economically weak areas.”