- This article discusses the structure of a geographical indication (GI), that is the model behind the rules, ie European Union (EU) rules. In fact, this industrial property right is complex, but some options were taken under EU law—a model that corresponds to the legal functions of this right as well as to its legal nature. However, the structure has some flexibility. It mays identify—making a horizontal analysis of all the rules in force in the EU—three pillars: a group of producers (which will be the applicant and must be representative); a product specification (the GI function, the guaranteed quality function and the assurance of trade loyalty in a collective right); and a control and certification body (which must comply with the principles of objectivity, independence and impartiality—but this body can be public or private).
