A new association for Koniaków lacemakers? EU protection of geographical indications for craft and industrial products
In November we were feasting on St Martin’s croissants, and soon we will take out our Christmas place settings—perhaps from the ceramics manufacturers in Bolesławiec, Ćmielów or Chodzież. Currently only one of these famed Polish products—the poppyseed-filled rolls from Poznań—is covered by the EU’s system for protection of geographical indications. But will the portfolio of EU-protected Polish geographical indications soon expand greatly? This became possible at the beginning of December 2025.
Last year the EU’s system for protection of geographical designations underwent a revolution, as we reported on our portal. One of the pillars of the changes is the entirely new Regulation (EU) 2023/2411 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 October 2023 on the protection of geographical indications for craft and industrial products, which ensures protection of geographical indications that were previously protected, if at all, only at the local level. Poland is one of the member states that have introduced a local protection system, but so far it covers only one registered geographical indication, for Koniaków lace.
Who can register a geographical indication?
Under Regulation 2023/2411, craft and industrial products are defined as goods:
- Produced either entirely by hand or with the aid of manual or digital tools, or by mechanical means, whenever the manual contribution is an important component of the finished product, or
- Produced in a standardised way, including serial production and by using machines.
The name of any such product may be submitted for registration as a geographical indication if it meets all of the following requirements:
- The product originates in a specific place, region or country
- The product’s quality, reputation or other characteristic is essentially attributable to its geographical origin, and
- At least one of the production steps for the product takes place in the defined geographical area.
The European Commission has identified some 380 products potentially qualifying for registration, including natural stone, textiles, jewellery, porcelain, and wood products. The candidates include such items as Murano glass from Italy, Donegal tweed from Ireland, Limoges porcelain from France, and Poland’s own ceramics from Bolesławiec.
Registration can be sought by producers from EU member states, and by local and regional authorities. This opportunity is also provided for producers from outside the EU who produce goods which are not EU craft products, but where the goods are protected in their home country and meet the requirements laid out in Regulation 2023/2411. These issues are to be addressed in detail in agreements between the producers’ country of origin and the EU.
Stages of registration
Registration is divided into two phases—national and EU. Thus applications will be examined first by a national authority (in Poland, the Patent Office), which will be much more familiar with the peculiarities and history of regional products.
An application in Poland will be filed via the electronic system PUEUP. After reviewing the application, the Patent Office will publish it and launch the opposition period, when objections to the registration can be asserted by any person in the country with a legitimate interest (for example alleging that the proposed geographical indication has become a generic name).
Once approved at the national level, the application is forwarded electronically to the European Union Intellectual Property Office. Upon publication, a further opposition period is launched in the EU phase—this time for competent authorities or persons with a legitimate interest from other member states or third countries. Upon approval by the EUIPO, the decision to register the geographical indication will be published along with the specifications of the product, in electronic form in the EU’s GI Register.
Especially for member states where to date there has not existed a local system for protection of geographical indications for craft and industrial products, it is possible to apply directly to the EUIPO, skipping the national stage. This applies to Denmark, Finland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, and Sweden.
Clear protection under uniform rules
The scope of protection of geographical indications for craft and industrial products does not differ materially from the existing system for agricultural products, foods, wines, and spirit drinks.
Any producer of goods in compliance with the specifications will be allowed to label them with the logo for protected geographical indications, facilitating identification of original products:
These geographical indications will be protected to the same extent as indications for agricultural, food and alcohol products, in particular against:
- Any direct or indirect commercial use of the geographical indication in respect of comparable products not covered by the registration, or entirely different products where the use of the name exploits, weakens, dilutes, or is detrimental to, the reputation of the protected geographical indication
- Any misuse, imitation or evocation of the protected name, even if accompanied by an expression such as “style,” “type,” “method’, “as produced in,” etc
- Any other false or misleading indication as to the provenance, origin, nature or essential qualities of the product, used on the packaging, in advertising materials, or in online interfaces
- Unlawful use of the indication in internet domains.
Differences between systems
The tasks and competencies concerning registration of geographical indications have been divided between two bodies, as registration of geographical indications for craft and industrial products will be handled by the EUIPO, not the European Commission. To this end, a separate CIGI division has been established within the EUIPO.
Moreover, only in the case of craft and industrial geographical indications, a system of “self-declarations” has been introduced. Under this system, a producer may use a geographical indication for its products based on its own declaration—but also under its exclusive responsibility—that the product complies with the specification for the product for which the geographical indication has been registered. Based on a self-declaration, the national authority should issue or renew the producer’s certificate of authorisation to use the geographical indication for the products in question (so long as the authority has no reservations as to the accuracy of the self-declaration). Then it is not necessary to undergo verification of the product’s compliance with the product specification, as would be required in the case of agricultural products, wines, and spirit drinks.
Time for producers to act
Although Regulation 2023/2411 entered into force on 16 November 2023, most of the provisions apply from 1 December 2025. This means that it has now become possible to file applications for registration of geographical indications with the Polish Patent Office, in order to obtain protection throughout the European Union.
In the case of existing geographical indications for craft and industrial products protected at the national level, the member states have until 2 December 2026 to notify them to the Commission and the EUIPO in order to obtain EU protection. Otherwise, their national protection will lapse. In Poland, this applies to the only registered geographical indication of this type, for Koniaków lace.
Consequently, producers of craft and industrial goods linked with the territory should take steps within the upcoming months to allow them to obtain broad protection of their interests throughout the EU and to popularise their valuable products. Poland has huge potential in the area of craft and industrial products. Apart from the aforementioned ceramics from Bolesławiec and Ćmielów, and Koniaków lace, the list of products which may be eligible for protection includes Kurpian amber jewellery, striped flint, various types of embroidery (Kurpian from the Puszcza Biała and Puszcza Zielona forests, Kashubian from Żukowo, and from the Central Vistula Valley subregion of Urzecze), cutouts from the Świętokrzyskie and Łowicz regions, and Krosno glass. It is worth exploiting this potential.
Katarzyna Sotyn, adwokat, Intellectual Property practice, Wardyński & Partners
