Define the product
Identify the product category, name, production area and the qualities, reputation or other characteristic attributable to that place.
Product.
Place.
Protection.
A Geographical Indication is a name or sign identifying a good as originating in a specific region where a given quality, reputation or other characteristic of the good is attributable to that geographical origin.
Product / place / reputation / protection
05.1Producer-readiness pathway
Collective intellectual property.
A geographical indication protects a product name when a quality, reputation or other characteristic is attributable to a defined place. Unlike an individual trade mark, it is available to the producers in the area who comply with a shared Product Specification.
Producer readiness is the practical work that comes before an application: organise the group, define the product and area, document the place link, agree the specification and design credible controls.
Form the producer group
Bring together the makers and producers entitled to use the name and agree how the collective right will be governed.
Write the Product Specification
Document the name, boundaries, materials, production stages, place link, evidence, controls and verification arrangements.
Verify and register
Establish credible controls, complete the national phase, apply through the relevant statutory route and maintain the protected record.
Build the market
Use the protected name with clear producer visibility, enforcement, procurement, export and long-term skills transmission.
05.2Craft & industrial GIs
The CIGI opportunity.
Under the European Union system, a Craft and Industrial Geographical Indication (CIGI) is a public collective intellectual property right protecting the registered name of a craft or industrial product whose given quality, reputation or other characteristic is essentially attributable to its geographical origin. The right may be exercised by all eligible producers within the defined geographical area who comply with the applicable product specification.
The eligible field directly intersects with Australian capability: textiles, lace, jewellery, ceramics, glass, wood, leather, metal, stone and other place-based products. For Australian producer groups, the Mapping report recommends a coordinated national pathway for producer readiness, product specifications, controls and international registration.
05.3Current CWA resources
Information, preparation and the emerging directory.
The sector-developed CWA resources explain the craft and industrial GI opportunity and provide separate starting points for producer organisations and practitioners.
The directory is a producer-readiness record of Australian product–place relationships. It is not a statutory GI register. A CIGI still requires collective governance, a place-linked Product Specification, control arrangements and the relevant legal protection.
Current service portal. The current information and directory remain on the established CWA Secretariat portal while independent ACA infrastructure is developed.
05.4Research and consultation
Connect Australian producer readiness with international research.
Horizon Culture AU connects cultural heritage and cultural and creative industries with research, innovation, regional development, materials, technology and productive capability.
Is your place-name part of the product?
Begin with the CWA producer-readiness information, or contact ACA about the wider Australian sector pathway.
Contact ACA