The seminar was organised as part of an EU-financed regional CARDS project on industrial and intellectual property rights in the Western Balkans.
There is growing consumer demand for indigenous food products conforming to health standards, which Croatian producers have recognised as a chance to increase their competitiveness by protecting the geographical origin of their products, trademarks and industrial design.
Croatian legislation in this domain has been fully harmonised with that of the European Union, said Marija Pisonic of the Ministry of Agriculture.
At the moment nine Croatian indigenous products bear designations of protected geographical origin, but they will also have to undergo procedure recently adopted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Pisonic said, adding that the number of incoming applications for such a designation was significant.
The seminar highlighted the example of Macedonia as the country that has gone furthest in Southeast Europe in protecting indigenous products. Macedonia has protected the geographical origin of more than 40 products.