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Protecting the Origin of Foodstuffs in the European Union

Indications of Origin and Trademarks as Intellectual Property Tools

Yves van Couter, Florence d’Ath


The geographical origin of food products is often associated with quality. Protecting and preventing the misuse of these indications is therefore important for both consumers and businesses. In the EU, two systems provide intellectual property tools to that end: the system of registered geographical names (PGI/PDO) and the system of the collective European Union trade mark (EUTM). This article explores and compares the specificities of each system.

Yves van Couter and Florence d’Ath, respectively partner and junior associate with Loyens & Loeff (Brussels office) and both members of the Loyens & Loeff Litigation & Risk Management practice group and the Benelux Food & Beverages sector team, <http://www.loyensloeff.com/en-us/practices/all-practices/food-and-beverages>. The authors can be contacted at yves.van.couter@loyensloeff.com and datf@loyensloeff.com.

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