On 29 July 2026 the EUIPO registered “Joyería de Córdoba” as the first craft and industrial geographical indication from Spain, giving the name immediate protection across the European Union, as the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office (OEPM) announced. For brand owners, craft and industrial geographical indications now sit next to food and wine names as earlier rights that can block trademarks. Brands built on place names in jewellery, ceramics, textiles, glass or furniture are the most exposed.
Key takeaways
- “Joyería de Córdoba” is the first Spanish GI for craft and industrial products; the EUIPO had received 81 applications since it opened the system on 1 December 2025.
- A trademark filed after a GI application, whose use would breach the GI’s protection, must be rejected, and if registered can be invalidated.
- Protection reaches evocation, translations and terms such as “style” or “type”, not only the identical name.
- Since 1 July 2026 the EUIPO’s ex officio examination of GI conflicts is no longer limited to identical or comparable goods.
- Trademarks applied for in good faith before the GI application can keep being used and renewed.
What was registered, and how?
Geographical indications (GIs) protect the name of a product whose quality, reputation or other characteristic is essentially due to its place of origin. Regulation (EU) 2023/2411, applicable since 1 December 2025, extended that protection from food, wine and spirits to craft and industrial products, with a single EU title managed by the EUIPO.
Registration has two phases. First a national phase: in Spain, Royal Decree 1190/2025 made the OEPM the competent authority for GIs covering more than one region and the link between regional bodies and the EUIPO. Then a Union phase at the EUIPO, with a three-month opposition period after publication.
How do craft and industrial geographical indications collide with trademarks?
The key date is when the GI application reached the EUIPO.
| Situation | Rule | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Trademark filed after the GI application, use would breach GI protection | Application rejected (priority claims count); if registered, invalidated on request | Art. 44(1) and (3), Reg. 2023/2411 |
| Trademark applied for or registered in good faith before the GI application | May continue to be used and renewed alongside the GI, unless it is invalid or revocable on other grounds | Art. 44(4) |
| GI application against a reputed or well-known mark | GI refused if it would mislead consumers about the product’s identity | Art. 44(2) |
| EU trademark examination | Ex officio refusal of marks excluded by GI legislation; opposition by those entitled to the GI | Arts. 7(1)(j) and 8(6), Reg. 2017/1001 |
| National trademarks in EU countries | Equivalent refusal grounds | Arts. 4(1)(i) and 5(3)(c), Directive 2015/2436 |
What counts as a breach is broad. Under Article 40, GIs are protected against commercial use for comparable products or use that exploits their reputation, and against “misuse, imitation or evocation”, even when the true origin is stated or the name is translated. The protection also covers domain names and online sales.
What do the 2026 EUIPO Guidelines add?
The 2026 edition of the EUIPO Guidelines, in force since 1 July 2026 (Decision EX-26-09), reviews practice on GIs in light of the reform and the General Court’s NERO CHAMPAGNE judgment (T-239/23). Three points matter for brands:
- Ex officio objections under Article 7(1)(j) can go beyond identical or comparable goods and rely on exploitation or detriment to a GI’s reputation, using the Office’s own information or third-party observations.
- Limiting the specification to goods that meet the GI’s product specification creates only a rebuttable presumption, and does not cure an objection where the GI is evoked.
- The Guidelines now cover craft and industrial GIs, including the Union registers and earlier national rights.
What this means for your business
- Audit marks that contain place names for jewellery, ceramics, textiles, glass, stone or furniture, starting with planned filings and renewals.
- Add GI sources to clearance: the EUIPO’s Union register and national-phase databases such as the OEPM’s list of Spanish applications, which show GIs before they reach the EUIPO.
- Watch publications: the national phase allows at least two months for opposition and the EUIPO phase three months, and an earlier trademark is a valid ground.
- If you are a producer, consider a GI alongside a collective mark; the SME Fund voucher of up to EUR 2,000 helps with registration costs.
Our trademark clearance and filing team in the EU, Latin America and Africa can screen a portfolio against GI registers before it becomes a refusal.
Where companies get this wrong
- Checking only trademark databases. A GI application filed before your mark can defeat it, and it will not appear in a trademark search.
- Relying on a restriction. Limiting goods to those that meet the GI’s specification does not save a mark that evokes the name.
- Missing the opposition window. Earlier mark owners who do not oppose a GI application lose their best chance to shape it.
- Assuming “style” or “type” is safe. The regulation expressly treats those qualifiers as infringing.
Frequently asked questions
Can a trademark containing a protected GI name still be registered?
It depends on dates and use. A trademark filed after the GI application reached the EUIPO, whose use would breach the GI’s protection, must be rejected under Article 44(1) of Regulation 2023/2411. A good-faith mark filed earlier can coexist with the GI and keep being renewed, unless it is invalid or revocable for other reasons.
Does GI protection only cover jewellery with the same name?
No. Article 40 also covers comparable products, uses that exploit the GI’s reputation, and any misuse, imitation or evocation, even with the true origin stated or a translation. Since July 2026 the EUIPO may also object ex officio beyond identical or comparable goods when it has information about the GI’s reputation.
Can a trademark owner oppose a craft or industrial GI application?
Yes. In the EU phase, oppositions can be filed within three months of publication, and one ground is that the GI would jeopardise an existing trademark. National phases also include an opposition period of at least two months. A reputed or well-known mark can also lead to refusal if the GI would mislead consumers.
Can IP Global Guard check my brands against the new GIs?
Yes. We screen portfolios and new filings against EU GI registers and national-phase applications, prepare oppositions and responses to objections, and coordinate filings before the EUIPO and the OEPM, directly where our professionals are entitled and otherwise through qualified representatives, together with local correspondents in Latin America and Africa.
How IP Global Guard protects place-name brands
Craft and industrial GIs add a new register to every EU clearance. IP Global Guard, the IP services line of META Channel Corporation Limited, manages trademark portfolios across more than 25 jurisdictions in Europe, Latin America and Africa with one strategy and one billing relationship.
Tell us which marks carry a place name and the goods they cover. We will check them against the GI registers, flag the ones at risk and propose how to file or defend them. Send the list of marks to our team.
This article is general information, not legal advice, and reflects the position on its publication date.
Sources
- OEPM, “Joyería de Córdoba”, first Spanish craft and industrial GI (29 July 2026)
- EUR-Lex, Regulation (EU) 2023/2411 on GIs for craft and industrial products (18 October 2023)
- EUIPO, Craft and industrial geographical indications come to life (10 December 2025)
- EUR-Lex, Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 on the EU trade mark (14 June 2017)
- EUR-Lex, Directive (EU) 2015/2436 on trade marks (16 December 2015)
- EUIPO, Entry into force of the 2026 Guidelines (30 June 2026)
- OEPM, Royal Decree 1190/2025 published (30 December 2025)
- OEPM, New database of Spanish craft and industrial GI applications (13 May 2026)
- EU IP Helpdesk, SME Fund voucher for craft and industrial GIs (30 June 2026)
