― 15 Mayıs 2025
The conference was held with the participation of TÜRKPATENT President Prof. Dr. M. Zeki DURAK and João ONOFRE, Head of the Geographical Indications Unit at the Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development of the European Commission.
Hosted by the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (TÜRKPATENT), the "Conference on Recent Developments in Geographical Indications in Türkiye and the EU" was held on May 13, 2025. The event addressed the registration, control, branding of geographical indications, and the process of technical cooperation with the European Union. During the event, the EU Registration Certificate for Aydın Memecik Zeytini (Olive) was formally presented.
The conference was held with the participation of TÜRKPATENT President Prof. Dr. M. Zeki DURAK and João ONOFRE, Head of the Geographical Indications Unit at the Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development of the European Commission.
In his opening speech, TÜRKPATENT President Prof. Dr. M. Zeki DURAK highlighted Türkiye’s richness in geographical indications and said:
“As of today, there are 1,724 registered geographical indications in our country, and the processing of 693 applications is ongoing. With this number, Türkiye ranks as the second country in the world with the most geographical indication registrations, following China. We aim to further strengthen this numerical success under the auspices of our Ministry of Industry and Technology, through branding and international promotion of our products. We continue our cooperation with chambers and exchanges regarding the control and commercialization of geographical indications.”
DURAK also shared information about the EU registration process:
“To date, 31 of our geographical indications have been registered in the European Union. Two more of our products will be registered soon. Additionally, 81 of our products are in the ongoing EU registration process. With the EU’s new regulation allowing the registration of craft products, new opportunities will emerge for Türkiye in the near future.”
João ONOFRE, Head of the Geographical Indications Unit at the European Commission, emphasized Türkiye’s importance as a partner in the field of geographical indications and stated:
“Türkiye is a key partner for the European Union in the field of geographical indications. The geographical indication system in the EU has an annual economic value of approximately 75 billion euros. Türkiye's active role in this process is pleasing. I believe that the meetings we will hold this week will be beneficial for both sides.”
Strengthening Cooperation Through Technical Meetings and Certificate Presentations
The conference, attended by public institutions, EU Commission members, representatives from chambers and exchanges, producers, and industry stakeholders, addressed topics such as the management, branding, and sustainability of geographical indications.
At the end of the program, the official EU Registration Certificate for Aydın Memecik Zeytini (Olive) was presented to representatives of the Aydın Commodity Exchange. Additionally, the EU Commission delegation was introduced to Türkiye’s geographically indicated products.
Following the conference, technical meetings were held on registration processes and control systems, with participation from the TÜRKPATENT Geographical Indications Department, the European Commission delegation, and experts from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. The delegation also held direct meetings with producers.
