Scotch Whiskey, Sheffield Steel, Murano Glass: Meet the School of Law Expert in Geographical Indications and Special Trade Marks
Dr Andrea Zappalaglio makes an impact in safeguarding heritage-based products.
On 28-29 January 2025, the EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) hosted the much-anticipated 'Geographical Indications Conference 2025: Safeguarding our Heritage, Cultivating our Future’.
Dr Andrea Zappalaglio was invited to contribute to the organisation of the conference, and then led a panel featuring a number of key stakeholders, including the EU Commission and the French National Institute for Industrial Property. The goal was to discuss and provide accurate information on the new EU Reform of the Law of Geographical Indications.
The Law of Geographical Indications (GIs) is the area of Intellectual Property Law (IP) that protects the names of products featuring a substantial link with a specific place. For instance, ‘Scotch Whisky’ is not just the name of a spirit drink; it specifically indicates that the product belongs to Scotland and its tradition.
The fact that the link between a traditional product and its place of origin is protected brings several benefits:
- producers of niche, place-based products are rewarded for their efforts, especially for keeping traditions alive while facing high production costs;
- consumers receive more and better information on the provenance and quality of the goods they buy;
- the whole heritage of a country benefits from the sui generis protection of traditional, place-based, high quality products;
- local communities benefit from GI protection because it supports rural development by producing a market worth more than €80 billion; finally,
- GIs stimulate the adoption/preservation of environmentally sustainable production practices. This is why the EU has placed particular emphasis on this IP Right, locating it prominently in the ‘Farm-to-Fork Strategy’ that, in turn, has been defined by the EU Commission as one of the central components of the European Green Deal.
In the past, this has only been accessible to producers of agricultural products, wines and spirits. However, around 2018 the EU Commission began to focus on extending this system to producers of place-specific handcrafts as well, such as ‘Murano Glass’ or ‘Porcelain de Limoges’.
In 2019 Dr Zappalaglio began cooperating with the European Commission in the context of the reform of the EU GI regime. In 2020, the Commission mentioned one of his articles among the ‘sources of data and evidence’ which it used to come to its decision to reform the system.
In 2021, he participated as Senior Legal Expert in the completion of a Study of the EU Commission.
In 2022, when the Proposal for the new Regulation on Craft and Industrial GIs was published, the Explanatory Memorandum mentioned Dr Zappalaglio’s study as one of the ‘major sources of external expertise’ on which the draft regulation was based. He also took part in Knowledge Exchange activities which contributed to the shaping of the new legislation.
Dr Zappalaglio’s focus has now shifted to aiding the implementation of the new system, which should be completed by December 2025. To date, 400 producer associations have declared their interest in applying for protection under this new instrument. According to the EU Parliament, this number should increase to 800 before the implementation of the system.
The EU estimates that this new system will create between 284,000 and 320,000 new jobs in the EU and will yield an overall expected increase in intra-EU trade of about 4.9-6.6% (EUR 37.6-50 billions). In addition, it will bring benefits in terms of rural development, sustainability, and the protection of European cultural heritage.
As a result of his involvement with this reform, Dr Zappalaglio has been asked by the publisher Edward Elgar to write a ‘Commentary on the New EU Law of Geographical Indications’, which he is currently developing with the support of a team of academics, attorneys, economists and representatives of the industries that he established.
His input into this vital reform is evidence of the School of Law’s strong reputation of producing impactful research that informs regulation and policy.
Dr Andrea Zappalaglio is a member of Centre for Business Law and Practice and of the Global Food and Environment Institute. His co-edited book, The Future of Geographical Indications is out this month.
