LAWS AND REGULATIONS

Standing Committee of the 13th People's Congress of Guangdong Province

Public notice

(No. 123)

The Regulations of Guangdong Province on Geographical Indications, adopted at the 47th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the 13th People's Congress of Guangdong Province on November 30, 2022, are hereby promulgated and shall come into force as of January 1, 2023.

Standing Committee of Guangdong Provincial People's Congress  

November 30, 2022  

Regulations of Guangdong Province on geographical indications

(Adopted at the 47th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the 13th Guangdong Provincial People's Congress on November 30, 2022)

Article 1 These Regulations are formulated in accordance with relevant laws and administrative regulations and in light of the actual conditions of this province in order to strengthen the application, protection, administration and service of geographical indications, ensure the quality and characteristics of geographical indications products, promote the development of the geographical indication industry and help rural revitalization.

Article 2 These Regulations shall apply to activities such as the application, protection, management and service of geographical indications within the administrative areas of this province.

The term "geographical indication" as used in these Regulations refers to a sign indicating that a product comes from a specific region, and that the specific quality, reputation or other characteristics of the product are mainly determined by the natural factors or historical and human factors of the region.

The application, registration or registration, alteration or cancellation of geographical indications and the application for the use of special geographical indications shall be executed in accordance with the relevant provisions of the State.

Article 3 The people's governments at or above the county level shall incorporate the work of geographical indications into the relevant plans for national economic and social development, and incorporate the funds related to geographical indications into the financial budgets at the corresponding levels.

Article 4 The intellectual property departments of the people's governments at or above the county level shall be responsible for the application, protection, administration and service of geographical indications within their respective administrative areas.

The relevant departments of development and reform, finance, agriculture and rural areas, natural resources, ecological environment, culture and tourism, industry and information technology, commerce and forestry of the people's governments at or above the county level shall, in accordance with the division of responsibilities, do a good job in the application of geographical indications and industrial development, and support and guide the development of industries with characteristics.

Article 5 People's governments at or above the county level shall regularly organize the general survey of geographical indication resources, and collect basic information data and materials such as characteristic quality, special technology, human history, origin environment, geographical scope and development status of local primary agricultural products, processed foods, indigenous medicinal materials, traditional handicrafts and other products with unique quality. Include geographical indication resource database, and strengthen tracking services and supervision.

People's governments at all levels shall strengthen the protection of natural resources, historical and cultural resources within the geographical indication resources, guide the application, application and protection of geographical indications, and promote the scientific and rational utilization of geographical indication resources.

Article 6 The people's governments at or above the county level shall, in accordance with the actual situation, formulate the development plan for the relevant industries of geographical indications, establish the work coordination mechanism, and introduce supporting policies and measures in the promotion of the geographical indication industry.

Article 7 The people's governments at or above the county level shall strengthen the publicity and promotion of local geographical indications, promote the construction of geographical indication product brand exhibition halls and product experience sites, and strengthen the work exchange of regional geographical indications.

People's governments at or above the county level shall expand the channels for the promotion of geographical indication products, and use large exhibitions such as expos and trade fairs and e-commerce platforms to support producers and operators of geographical indication products to promote and display local geographical indication products.

The people's governments at or above the county level shall strengthen the guidance on the brand cultivation of geographical indication products, encourage and support the manufacturers and operators of geographical indication products and relevant industry organizations to strengthen the construction of geographical indication brands, promote the construction of high-quality geographical indication product bases, and enhance the value of geographical indication brands.

Article 8 The people's governments at or above the county level shall support producers and operators of geographical indication products in the protection of natural germplasm and breeding germplasm resources, technological transformation and scientific and technological innovation, promote the transformation of relevant scientific and technological achievements into the geographical indication industry, and increase the added value of products.

Article 9 The people's governments at or above the county level shall support the construction of industrial parks in the origin areas of geographical indication products, give full play to the leading role of leading enterprises of geographical indication products, cultivate various forms of industrial management models, and promote the development of geographical indication industrial clusters.

People's governments at or above the county level shall improve policies and measures to support the application of industrial parks related to geographical indications for the construction of national and provincial geographical indication product protection demonstration zones and national and provincial modern agricultural industrial parks.

Article 10 The people's governments at or above the county level shall promote the integration of the geographical indication industry with the Internet, e-commerce, cultural creativity, eco-tourism and other industries, support the development of new business forms of geographical indications, and enhance the comprehensive benefits of the geographical indication industry.

Article 11 The provincial and prefectural listed people's governments shall cultivate the trading market of geographical indication products, standardize the market order, and promote the docking of production and marketing.

People's governments at or above the county level shall promote the linked development of related industries such as the storage, processing, transportation and sales of geographical indication products, encourage e-commerce platforms and exhibition service platforms to open online zones for geographical indication products, and expand trade channels for geographical indication products.

Article 12 Encourage banks, insurance, trust and other financial institutions to develop financial products and financing models suitable for the development characteristics of the geographical indication industry, and increase credit support for the producers and operators of geographical indication products.

Article 13 The provincial people's government shall promote the establishment of an international exchange and cooperation mechanism for geographical indications, promote international trade of geographical indication products, and enhance the international operation capacity of the geographical indication industry.

The intellectual property department of the provincial people's Government shall, together with relevant departments, support the producers and operators of geographical indication products to carry out foreign cooperation and exchanges and actively explore overseas markets.

Article 14 The people's governments at or above the county level shall strengthen the quality control of local geographical indication products, strengthen the construction of quality infrastructure such as application standards, inspection, testing and certification, and build a quality assurance system with government supervision, industry management and producer self-discipline.

Article 15 The intellectual property department of the people's government at or above the county level shall, in conjunction with the relevant departments, strengthen the daily supervision and administration of the geographical indication products in terms of the range of origin, quality characteristics and standard conformity, and publicize the supervision and inspection on a regular basis.

The intellectual property department of the people's government at or above the county level shall strengthen the daily supervision and administration of the use of special geographical indications, standardize the use of special geographical indications, establish an annual report system for the use of special geographical indications, and promote the establishment of a list of abnormal use of special geographical indications.

The intellectual property rights departments of the people's governments at or above the county level shall investigate and punish illegal acts of geographical indications according to law, and carry out key supervision over places where geographical indication products are produced and distributed.

Article 16 The standardization administrative departments of listed people's governments at the provincial and prefecture levels shall, together with relevant departments, formulate local standards for geographical indication products and promote the formulation of group standards for geographical indication products.

After the application for geographical indication has been approved or registered, the applicant shall cooperate with the department of Standardization Administration or relevant departments to formulate corresponding standards, management norms or rules.

Article 17 The intellectual property department of the people's government at or above the county level shall promote the construction of a credit system in the field of geographical indications, and incorporate the dishonest acts of natural persons, legal persons and unjuried organizations in the field of geographical indications into public credit information in accordance with the relevant provisions of the State and the province.

Article 18 After an application for a geographical indication has been approved or registered, the applicant shall be the manager of the geographical indication. Where the applicant cancels, dissolves or fails to perform the administrative responsibilities, the people's government at or above the county level may designate or coordinate the geographical indication administrator separately.

Geographical indication managers shall promote the implementation of geographical indication standards, management norms or rules, promote the application of process control, origin traceability and other management methods, and manage the quality characteristics of geographical indication products.

Geographical indication managers are encouraged to explore the classification of geographical indication producing areas.

Article 19 Manufacturers and traders of geographical indication products shall organize production and operation in accordance with the corresponding standards, management norms or rules, and be responsible for the quality and reputation of their products.

Producers and operators of geographical indication products shall establish production, storage and sales accounts and geographical indication use files, truthfully record the output and use of geographical indication products, and ensure that the place of origin of geographical indication products can be traced.

Encourage the producers and operators of geographical indication products to carry out the classification of product characteristics and quality.

Article 20 No unit or individual may engage in the following acts:

(1) Unauthorized use of a special geographical indication;

(2) does not conform to the geographical indication product standards and management requirements and use the name of the geographical indication product;

(3) the use of a mark similar to the special geographical indication mark on the product, causing the public to mistake the product for a geographical indication product;

(4) by using the product name or product description, the public mistakenly believes that the product comes from the geographical indication product area of origin;

(5) Selling products under items (1) to (4) of this Article.

The legal user of a special geographical indication shall not use a special geographical indication on a product produced outside the area of origin of the product under the protection notice, and shall not use a special geographical indication on a product variety other than the product variety under the protection notice.

Article 21 The competent department of public data of the provincial people's government shall, together with the intellectual property department and other relevant departments of the provincial people's government, strengthen the collection and sharing of geographical indication information and provide public services such as query and retrieval.

The intellectual property department of the people's government at or above the county level shall improve the management of geographical indication archives.

Article 22 People's governments at or above the county level shall organize relevant departments and trade organizations to strengthen production guidance and technical services in accordance with the corresponding standards, administrative norms or rules for geographical indication products and protection measures, and increase training for the producers and operators of geographical indication products.

Article 23 The relevant industry organizations shall give play to the role of self-discipline in the industry, carry out publicity, guidance and training on the application and protection of geographical indications, provide information sharing, technology sharing and brand co-construction services, and guide the producers and operators of geographical indications products to standardize their production and operation.

All kinds of intellectual property service institutions are encouraged to carry out geographical indication marketization services, and carry out professional services such as geographical indication brand operation, supply and demand docking, and market expansion.

We encourage qualified geographical indication products to establish specialized inspection and testing institutions. Third-party testing institutions are encouraged to provide data and technical support for the application and protection of geographical indications.

Article 24 The provincial and prefecture-level listed people's governments shall improve the statistical survey system of the geographical indication industry in line with the actual conditions of their respective administrative areas, and organize the implementation of statistical survey of the geographical indication industry.

The relevant departments of intellectual property rights, agriculture and rural areas, industry and information technology of the people's governments at or above the county level shall establish a statistical mechanism for the output value of geographical indication products to monitor and analyze the information of geographical indication products.

Encourage and support universities, scientific research institutions and social organizations to carry out research on the economic contribution rate of geographical indication industries.

Article 25 People's governments at or above the county level shall strengthen personnel training, expand the scale of personnel training, establish and improve the mechanism for the use and incentive of personnel, strengthen the introduction and exchange of personnel, and support relevant industry organizations to strengthen the construction of geographical indication personnel.

The intellectual property department of the provincial people's Government shall establish a database of geographical indications experts, organize and carry out basic theoretical research on geographical indications, and provide professional support for the application, protection and industrial development of geographical indications.

Article 26 Whoever violates the provisions of Article 20 of these Regulations shall be ordered by the intellectual property department of the people's government at or above the county level to make corrections within a time limit, the products illegally produced or sold shall be confiscated, and a fine of not more than the equivalent value of the products illegally produced or sold shall be imposed. If there are any illegal gains, the illegal gains shall be confiscated concurrently; Those who simultaneously violate the Trademark Law of the People's Republic of China, the Law of the People's Republic of China against Unfair Competition and other laws and regulations shall be dealt with in accordance with relevant laws and regulations; If the case constitutes a crime, criminal responsibility shall be investigated according to law.

Article 27 When the people's procuratorates find, in the course of performing their duties, an illegal act of geographical indication that harms the public interest, they may support prosecution or institute public interest litigation according to law.

Article 28 These Regulations shall come into force as of January 1, 2023. (Source: Guangdong Renmin University Network)

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