From 1 December 2025, producers of craft and industrial goods will be able to register product names under the EU’s new geographical indication (GI) scheme. The system extends GI protection, long used for food and drink, to non-agricultural products, completing the Single Market for GIs.

The scheme will protect goods such as Bohemian glass, Limoges porcelain, Solingen knives and Donegal tweed, whose quality and reputation are linked to their place of origin. It aims to safeguard traditional skills, support local jobs and help consumers identify genuine, high-quality European products, while curbing counterfeits online and offline.

Applications may be submitted by recognised producer associations or by individual producers. Each application must include a product specification describing the name, production process and geographical area, and should be filed with the relevant national authority in EU Member States.

The registration process has two stages. At national level, the authority examines the application and runs a national opposition procedure. At EU level, the application is assessed by the EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), which manages the EU-wide opposition procedure and decides on protection and registration. Denmark, Finland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands and Sweden have obtained a derogation allowing producers to apply directly to the EUIPO, which will handle the full procedure.

Guidance, templates and contact points, including information on financial and technical support, are available via the EUIPO’s CIGI Hub. The scheme is supervised by the European Commission, which may intervene where a registration could affect public policy or the EU’s trade and external relations.

Regulation (EU) 2023/2411, adopted on 18 October 2023, establishes EU-wide protection for craft and industrial geographical indications (CIGIs). It builds on over 30 years of the agricultural GI system, which protects more than 3,600 names and generates around €75 billion annually. Existing national craft and industrial GIs will end one year after the Regulation takes effect, in December 2026.