It must indicate:

• the name to be protected as a geographical indication
• the product concerned
• the delimitation of the geographical area or the specific place associated
• the quality, reputation, traditional know-how or other characteristics possessed by the product concerned and which can be attributed essentially to this geographical area or to this specific place, as well as the elements establishing the link between the product and the geographical area or the specific place associated
• the description of the preparation, production and processing steps, including the production or processing operations which must be carried out in the geographical area or specific place as well as those guaranteeing the characteristics mentioned in the previous point
• the identity of the protection and management body of the geographical indication (organisme de défense et de gestion / ODG), its statutes, the list of initial operators it represents and the financial terms of their participation
• the conditions and frequency of the controls conducted by the bodies mentioned in article L. 721-9 of the Intellectual Property Code as well as the way these controls are funded. The conditions include in particular the product control points
• the obligations to be fulfilled by the operators (declaration requirements or register keeping) in order to enable verification of compliance with the specification
• the procedures for giving formal notice to and excluding operators failing to comply with the specification
• the funding estimate of the protection and management body
• the specific labelling elements
• where applicable, the social and environmental commitments made by the operators belonging to the protection and management body.

Points requiring special attention

Special care must be paid to the sections of the specification indicating:

• the delimitation of the geographical area
• the description of the preparation, production and processing steps, in particular the steps affecting the specific elements of the product which are essentially attributable to the geographical area
• the link between the product and the geographical area
• the conditions of the controls to be carried out by a third party independent accredited body.

It costs €350 to file a geographical indication.

Only the protection and management body comprising the operators (craftsmen or companies) can file the application for approval. A protection and management body must be a non-profit organisation (association or trade association).

Choosing a representative

The protection and management body may request the services of a representative to represent it:

• an industrial property attorney with a "trademark" specialisation or a lawyer
• a person entitled to represent the applicant before the INPI: these persons are registered on a special list
• a professional from a Member State of the European Union or the European Economic Area entitled to represent any person before the industrial property office of their country
• a company established in the European Economic Area which is contractually bound to the applicant company.

Unless the representative is an industrial property attorney or a lawyer, he/she must include a power of attorney with the application in order to act on behalf and for the account of the applicant. Depending on the cases, this power of attorney may be:

• a special power of attorney, i.e. a power entitling the representative to act exclusively for the application concerned. This power of attorney must be included with the application
• a permanent power of attorney, i.e. one entitling the representative to represent the applicant generally and for all formalities. In this case, the power of attorney must be registered with the INPI before making the application. The representative must provide a copy of this power whenever he/she acts on behalf and for the account of the applicant.

In some cases, a representative must be appointed

A representative must be appointed when the protection and management body is neither established nor domiciled in France nor in a Member State of the European Union or the European Economic Area.

If these supporting documents are written in a foreign language, a French translation must be provided.

The geographical indications (GI) database provides free access to public enquiries in progress, the latest enquiries opened, the latest approvals as well as to all GIs published.

You can therefore consult or participate in a public enquiry by making observations on the specification(s).

You can also use this database to supplement a search for earlier trademarks, read the list of economic operators entitled to use a GI or find the manufacturing techniques and/or traditions of a GI (specification).