Traditional speciality guaranteed ("TSG")

The traditional speciality guaranteed is the European Union quality scheme that protects the name of an agricultural product or foodstuff resulting from a mode of production, processing or composition corresponding to traditional practice, or produced from raw materials or ingredients traditionally used. Governed by Regulation (EU) 2024/1143, which took over the scheme of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012, it involves no link with a geographical origin and in that respect differs from the PDO and the PGI.

Conditions for registration

The name must have been traditionally used to refer to the product, or identify the traditional character or specific character of the product. Traditional character requires proven use on the domestic market for a period allowing transmission between generations, set by the Regulation at no less than thirty years. The product specification describes the product, its physical, chemical or organoleptic characteristics, the production method and the elements establishing the tradition. The application is submitted by a group of producers and examined in France by the INAO (French National Institute of Origin and Quality), then forwarded to the European Commission, which scrutinises, publishes and registers it after the opposition period.

Scope of protection

The registered name is protected against any misuse, imitation or evocation, and against any other practice liable to mislead the consumer, in respect of products that do not comply with the specification. Any producer, wherever established in the Union, may use the name if it follows the traditional method and submits to checks, which makes the TSG an open sign rather than a territorial right. The EU logo must accompany the name on the labelling. France has few TSGs, among them moules de bouchot (bouchot mussels), alongside well-known European specialities such as mozzarella or serrano ham.

Litigation and interplay with trade marks

Use of a TSG name for a non-compliant product falls within the rules on misleading commercial practices and the health and economic regulation enforced by the inspection authorities, and the applicant group may bring an action for unfair competition against a competitor that wrongfully appropriates the name. A TSG name cannot be registered as a trade mark for identical or comparable products, and a collective mark or a certification mark may complement the scheme for the group’s figurative signs. The French Intellectual Property Code does not, however, include TSGs among the geographical indications whose infringement constitutes infringement in the IP sense, so saisie-contrefaçon is not available on that basis alone.

Key points

A TSG reserves a name for a traditional product defined by its recipe or method, with no link to a place, and opens it to any producer that complies with the specification under supervision. Its protection covers misuse, imitation and evocation, but it does not fall within infringement litigation. A producer group should assess whether the tradition can be documented over thirty years, and a business should check that a contemplated recipe name is not registered as a TSG.

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This glossary entry is general in scope and does not constitute legal advice.

Dhenne Avocats is a patent litigation firm. Matters outside that field, such as trade marks, designs, copyright and IT contracts, are handled by practitioners the firm works with regularly, and by the firm itself when they arise in a patent dispute.

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