{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/eu-regulation-2012-1151/article-15",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/eu-regulation-2012-1151/article-15.json",
  "legislation": "eur/2012/1151",
  "legislation_title": "Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 November 2012 on quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/eu-regulation-2012-1151",
  "path": "article/15",
  "kind": "article",
  "number": "15",
  "heading": "Transitional periods for use of protected designations of origin and protected geographical indications",
  "text": "1. Without prejudice to Article 14, the Secretary of State may, by regulations, make provision for a transitional period of up to five years to apply to enable products ... the designation of which consists of or contains a name that contravenes Article 13(1) to continue to use the designation under which it was marketed if the Secretary of State is satisfied that an admissible statement of opposition under ... Article 51 shows that:\n(a) the registration of the name would jeopardise the existence of an entirely or partly identical name; or\n(b) such products have been legally marketed with that name in the territory concerned for at least five years preceding the date of the publication provided for point (a) of Article 50(2).\n...\n2. Without prejudice to Article 14, an application may be made to the Secretary of State to extend the transitional period mentioned in paragraph 1 to 15 years in duly justified cases and the Secretary of State may, by regulations, make provision for such a transitional provision if the Secretary of State is satisfied that:\n(a) the designation referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article has been in legal use consistently and fairly for at least 25 years before the application for registration was submitted to the Secretary of State;\n(b) the purpose of using the designation referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article has not, at any time, been to profit from the reputation of the registered name and it is shown that the consumer has not been nor could have been misled as to the true origin of the product.\n...\n3. When using a designation referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2, the indication of country of origin shall clearly and visibly appear on the labelling.\n4. To overcome temporary difficulties with the long-term objective of ensuring that all producers in the area concerned comply with the specification, nothing in this Regulation prevents the Secretary of State from using any power the Secretary of State has to make regulations to provide for a transitional period of up to 10 years to apply, with effect from the date on which the application is lodged with the Secretary of State, on condition that the operators concerned have legally marketed the products in question, using the names concerned continuously for at least the five years prior to the lodging of the application ... and have made that point in the ... opposition procedure referred to in Article 51.\nThe first subparagraph shall apply mutatis mutandis to a protected geographical indication or protected designation of origin referring to a geographical area situated in a third country, with the exception of the opposition procedure.\nSuch transitional periods shall be indicated in the application submitted under Article 8(1).",
  "extent": "E+W+S+N.I.",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F1",
      "text": "Words in Art. 15(1) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Agricultural Products, Food and Drink (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1637), regs. 1(7), 18(17)(a)(i)(aa)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F2",
      "text": "Words in Art. 15(1) omitted (31.12.2020) by virtue of The Agricultural Products, Food and Drink (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1637), regs. 1(7), 18(17)(a)(i)(bb)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F3",
      "text": "Words in Art. 15(1) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Agricultural Products, Food and Drink (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1637), regs. 1(7), 18(17)(a)(i)(cc)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F4",
      "text": "Words in Art. 15(1) omitted (31.12.2020) by virtue of The Agricultural Products, Food and Drink (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1637), regs. 1(7), 18(17)(a)(i)(dd)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F5",
      "text": "Words in Art. 15(1) omitted (31.12.2020) by virtue of The Agricultural Products, Food and Drink (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1637), regs. 1(7), 18(17)(a)(ii)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F6",
      "text": "Words in Art. 15(2) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Agricultural Products, Food and Drink (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1637), regs. 1(7), 18(17)(b)(i)(aa)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F7",
      "text": "Words in Art. 15(2)(a) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Agricultural Products, Food and Drink (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1637), regs. 1(7), 18(17)(b)(i)(bb)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F8",
      "text": "Words in Art. 15(2) omitted (31.12.2020) by virtue of The Agricultural Products, Food and Drink (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1637), regs. 1(7), 18(17)(b)(ii)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F9",
      "text": "Words in Art. 15(4) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Agricultural Products, Food and Drink (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1637), regs. 1(7), 18(17)(c)(i)(aa)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F10",
      "text": "Words in Art. 15(4) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Agricultural Products, Food and Drink (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1637), regs. 1(7), 18(17)(c)(i)(bb)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F11",
      "text": "Words in Art. 15(4) omitted (31.12.2020) by virtue of The Agricultural Products, Food and Drink (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1637), regs. 1(7), 18(17)(c)(i)(cc)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F12",
      "text": "Word in Art. 15(4) omitted (31.12.2020) by virtue of The Agricultural Products, Food and Drink (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1637), regs. 1(7), 18(17)(c)(i)(dd)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F13",
      "text": "Word in Art. 15(4) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Agricultural Products, Food and Drink (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1637), regs. 1(7), 18(17)(c)(i)(ee)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F14",
      "text": "Words in Art. 15(4) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Agricultural Products, Food and Drink (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1637), regs. 1(7), 18(17)(c)(ii)"
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eur/2012/1151/article/15",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-11-01T14:48:59.044275+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}