Over 70 EU and Thai GIs showcased in Bangkok
The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) is an international GI registration authority and leads the EU’s international cooperation on intellectual property rights, including geographical indications. The EUIPO was recently entrusted with managing the registration of craft and industrial GIs at EU level, the first applications can be filed from 1 December 2025 on. In addition, the EUIPO has developed the most comprehensive searchable database for GIs: GIview, which will soon include craft and industrial products.
To further promote GIs in key strategic countries, the EUIPO recently held the ‘Geographical Indications Exhibition: Promoting Rural Development and Tourism’ in Bangkok, Thailand, in the framework of the IP Key South-East Asia (IP Key SEA) Project. From 1 to 6 October 2024, the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre hosted the event, organised in collaboration with the Department of Intellectual Property (DIP) of Thailand. It featured over 70 GIs from the EU and Thailand, with some available for visitors to sample. The programme included a seminar on the benefits and protection of GIs, workshops on Thai GI crafts and a session highlighting EU products through videos and tastings.
The event exemplified the ‘Team Europe’ approach, with EU Member State embassies in Bangkok coordinating with importers to provide GI products for the exhibition. A diverse range of over 60 GIs from 11 EU countries, namely the Czech Republic, Denmark, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Lithuania, Hungary, the Netherlands, and Sweden, were showcased. Ten Thai GI producers had booths at the exhibition, with additional Thai GI products displayed at the Thailand booth.
The exhibition was inaugurated with speeches from Ms. Kanitha Kungsawanich, Deputy Director General of the DIP, and Ms. Renita Bhaskar, Head of the Economic and Trade Section at the Delegation of the European Union to Thailand, with representatives from the participating EU Member States attending both events.
The seminar drew over a thousand participants, both in person and online. This event provided another key opportunity for the EUIPO to raise GI awareness as more than an intellectual property right but also as a key economic driver, supporting rural development, tourism and sustainability.
