Recital 16

(16) A name of a product should be eligible for protection as a geographical indication if the product complies with three cumulative requirements: the product should be rooted in or originate in a specific place, region or country; a given quality, the reputation or other characteristic of the product should be essentially attributable to its geographical origin; and at least one of the production steps should take place in that geographical area. To fulfil those requirements, it needs to be demonstrated that the geographical origin is an essential factor for the given quality, reputation or other characteristic of the product. Those requirements are in line with the requirements for geographical indications as set out in the Geneva Act and in the Union legislation on the protection of geographical indications for agricultural products, foodstuffs, wines and spirit drinks. However, products that are contrary to public policy should not be the subject of a protected geographical indication. The need to apply that public policy exception should be assessed on a case-by-case basis, and the exception should be applied in accordance with the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) and the relevant case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union.

← Recital 15 · All articles · Recital 17 →

Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-10-12 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.