NEWS

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

Announcement

(No. 123)

The "Regulations on Geographical Indications of Guangdong Province" was adopted by the 47th meeting of the Standing Committee of the 13th People's Congress of Guangdong Province on November 30, 2022, and is hereby announced and will come into effect on January 1, 2023.

Standing Committee of Guangdong Provincial People's Congress

November 30, 2022

Guangdong Province Geographical Indications Regulations

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

Article 1 In order to strengthen the use, protection, management and services of geographical indications, ensure the quality and characteristics of geographical indication products, promote the development of the geographical indication industry, and assist rural revitalization, these regulations are formulated in accordance with relevant laws and administrative regulations and in conjunction with the actual conditions of this province.

Article 2 These regulations apply to the use, protection, management and services of geographical indications within the administrative region of this province.

The geographical indications mentioned in these Regulations refer to signs indicating that a product originates 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 cultural factors of the region.

The application, registration or registration, change and cancellation of geographical indications, as well as the application for the use of special signs for geographical indications shall be carried out in accordance with relevant national regulations.

Article 3 People's governments at or above the county level shall incorporate geographical indication work into relevant plans for national economic and social development, and include funds related to geographical indication work into the fiscal budget at the same level.

Article 4 The intellectual property departments of the people's governments at or above the county level are responsible for the use, protection, management and services of geographical indications within their respective administrative regions.

The development and reform, finance, agriculture and rural areas, natural resources, ecological environment, culture and tourism, industry and information technology, commerce, forestry and other relevant departments 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 work related to the use of geographical indications and industrial development. Support and guide the development of characteristic industries.

Article 5 People’s governments at or above the county level shall regularly organize and carry out censuses of geographical indication resources to collect local unique quality primary agricultural products, processed foods, authentic medicinal materials, traditional handicrafts and other products with their characteristic quality, special technology, humanities and history. , origin environment, geographical scope, development status and other basic information data and materials, be included in the geographical indication resource database, and tracking services and supervision will be strengthened.

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

Article 6 People's governments at or above the county level shall formulate development plans for geographical indication-related industries based on actual conditions, establish a work coordination mechanism, and issue supporting policies and measures in promoting the geographical indication industry.

Article 7 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 areas, and strengthen regional geographical indication work exchanges.

People's governments at or above the county level should expand the channels for promoting geographical indication products and use expos, trade fairs and other large-scale exhibitions and e-commerce platforms to support geographical indication product manufacturers and operators to promote and display local geographical indication products.

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

Article 8 People’s governments at or above the county level shall support geographical indication product producers and operators to carry out natural germplasm and breeding germplasm resource protection, 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 People's governments at or above the county level shall support the construction of industrial parks in the production areas of geographical indication products, give play to the leading role of leading enterprises in geographical indication products, cultivate various forms of industrialized business models, and promote the development of geographical indication industrial clusters.

People's governments at or above the county level should improve policies and measures to support geographical indication-related industrial parks in applying to build national and provincial geographical indication product protection demonstration zones and national and provincial modern agricultural industrial parks.

Article 10 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 People's governments at or above the provincial and prefectural levels shall cultivate trading markets for geographical indication products, standardize market order, and promote the connection between production and marketing.

People's governments at or above the county level should promote the coordinated development of storage, processing, transportation, sales and other related industries of geographical indication products, encourage e-commerce platforms and exhibition service platforms to open special online areas for geographical indication products, and expand trade channels for geographical indication products.

Article 12 Encourage banks, insurance, trusts 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 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 in geographical indication products, and enhance the international operation capabilities of the geographical indication industry.

The intellectual property department of the Provincial People's Government shall work with relevant departments to support manufacturers and operators of geographical indication products to carry out foreign cooperation and exchanges and actively explore overseas markets.

Article 14 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 and testing, and certification, and build a quality assurance system of government supervision, industry management, and producer self-discipline.

Article 15 The intellectual property departments of the people's governments at or above the county level shall work with relevant departments to strengthen daily supervision and management of the scope of origin, quality characteristics, standard compliance and other aspects of geographical indication products, and regularly disclose the supervision and inspection status.

The intellectual property departments of people's governments at or above the county level shall strengthen the daily supervision and management of the use of special signs for geographical indications, standardize the use of special signs for geographical indications, establish an annual reporting system for the use of special signs for geographical indications, and promote the establishment of a directory of abnormal use of special signs for geographical indications.

The intellectual property departments of people's governments at or above the county level shall investigate and deal with illegal acts related to geographical indications in accordance with the law, and implement key supervision over places such as production centers and sales distribution centers of geographical indication products.

Article 16 The standardization administrative departments of the people's governments at or above the provincial and prefectural levels shall work with relevant departments to formulate local standards for geographical indication products and promote the formulation of group standards for geographical indication products.

After the geographical indication application is approved or registered, the applicant shall cooperate with the standardization administrative department or relevant departments to formulate corresponding standards, management specifications or rules.

Article 17 The intellectual property departments of people's governments at or above the county level shall promote the construction of a credit system in the field of geographical indications and incorporate the untrustworthy behavior of natural persons, legal persons and unincorporated organizations in the field of geographical indications into public credit information in accordance with relevant national and provincial regulations.

Article 18 After the application for a geographical indication is approved or registered, the applicant shall be the manager of the geographical indication. If the applicant cancels, dissolves or neglects to perform management responsibilities, the people's government at or above the county level may designate or coordinate another geographical indication manager.

Geographical indication managers should promote the implementation of geographical indication standards, management specifications 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 production areas.

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

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

Producers and operators of geographical indication products are encouraged to carry out product characteristic quality classification.

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

(1) Unauthorized use of special signs of geographical indications;

(2) Using the name of the geographical indication product without complying with the requirements of geographical indication product standards and management regulations;

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

(4) By using product names or product descriptions, causing the public to mistakenly believe that the product comes from the origin of geographical indication products;

(5) Selling products subject to items (1) to (4) of this article.

Legal users of the special signs of geographical indications shall not use the special signs of geographical indications on products produced outside the scope of production areas announced for protection, and shall not use the special signs of geographical indications on product varieties other than the product varieties announced for protection.

Article 21 The public data department of the Provincial People's Government shall work with the intellectual property department of the Provincial People's Government and other relevant departments to strengthen the collection and sharing of information related to geographical indications, and provide information public services such as query and retrieval.

The intellectual property departments of people's governments at or above the county level should improve the management of archival information on geographical indications.

Article 22 The people's governments at or above the county level shall organize relevant departments and industry organizations to strengthen production guidance and technical services in accordance with the corresponding standards, management norms or rules and protective measures for geographical indication products, and increase the supervision of geographical indication product producers and operators. Training intensity.

Article 23 Relevant industry organizations shall play the role of industry self-discipline, carry out publicity, guidance and training on the use and protection of geographical indications, provide information exchange, technology sharing and brand co-building services, and guide the producers and operators of geographical indication products to standardize their production and operation.

Encourage various intellectual property service agencies to carry out market-oriented services for geographical indications, and provide professional services such as geographical indication brand operation, supply and demand docking, and market expansion.

Encourage qualified geographical indication product origins to build professional inspection and testing institutions. Third-party testing agencies are encouraged to provide data and technical support for the use and protection of geographical indications.

Article 24 People's governments at or above the provincial and prefectural levels shall improve the statistical survey system for the geographical indication industry that is consistent with the actual conditions of their respective administrative regions, and organize and implement statistical surveys of the geographical indication industry.

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

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

Article 25 People’s governments at or above the county level shall increase efforts in talent training, expand the scale of talent training, establish and improve talent utilization and incentive mechanisms, strengthen talent introduction and exchanges, and support relevant industry organizations in strengthening the construction of geographical indication talent teams.

The intellectual property department of the provincial people's government should establish a geographical indication expert database, organize and carry out basic theoretical research on geographical indications, and provide professional support for the use, protection and industrial development of geographical indications.

Article 26 Anyone who 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, confiscate the illegally produced and sold products, and impose a fine of up to the value of the illegally produced and sold products. Fines; if there are illegal gains, the illegal gains will also be confiscated; if there are violations of the Trademark Law of the People's Republic of China, the Anti-Unfair Competition Law of the People's Republic of China and other laws and regulations, they will be dealt with in accordance with relevant laws and regulations; if a crime is constituted, they will be investigated in accordance with the law. criminal responsibility.

Article 27 If the People's Procuratorate discovers illegal acts on geographical indications that harm public interests in the performance of its duties, it may support prosecution or initiate public interest litigation in accordance with the law.

Article 28 These regulations will come into effect on January 1, 2023. (Source: Guangdong People’s Congress website)

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