Existing names and transitional protection

1.   By 2 December 2026, national specific protection for geographical indications for craft and industrial products shall cease to exist, and pending applications shall be considered not to have been submitted, unless a request pursuant to paragraph 2 is made.
2.   By 2 December 2026, interested Member States shall inform the Commission and the Office which of their legally protected names or, in the Member States where there is no protection system, which of their names established by usage, they wish to register and protect pursuant to this Regulation.
3.   On the basis of a request made pursuant to paragraph 2, national protection may be extended in time by the Member State concerned until the registration procedure pursuant to paragraph 4 has been completed and the decision has become final. Where Union protection is granted, the day on which the Member State concerned has informed the Commission and the Office, in accordance with paragraph 2, shall be deemed to be the first day of protection under this Regulation.
4.   Names of which the Commission is informed pursuant to paragraph 2 of this Article and which comply with Articles 3, 6, 9 and 10 shall be registered by the Office, or, in the cases referred to in Article 30, by the Commission, in accordance with the procedure laid down in Articles 22 to 30. Articles 25, 26 and 27 shall not apply. However, generic terms shall not be registered.