Protecting a regional product name in BiH: designations of origin and geographical indications

If your product carries the name of a place (Nevesinjski krompir, Herzegovina olive oil), the name is only worth something if nobody else may use it for a similar product from another area. Protection comes from registration. This text is for food producers, craftspeople and associations considering protecting a name.

In short

• BiH has two separate routes. Food: the application goes to the Food Safety Agency of BiH (Agencija za sigurnost hrane BiH) under the Rulebook on quality schemes for food products (Official Gazette of BiH 90/18). Other products (crafts, industrial goods, home-made goods): the application goes to the Institute for Intellectual Property of BiH (Institut za intelektualno vlasništvo BiH) under the Law on the Protection of Geographical Indications (Official Gazette of BiH 53/10).
• For food, the Agency's map lists 20 protected products: 6 designations of origin, 11 geographical indications and 3 traditional specialities guaranteed. The map is updated, so the count may differ when you open it.
• Agency fees: 30 KM for the application, 500 KM for the procedure and 30 KM for entry in the register.
• At the Institute, a registered designation of origin or geographical indication has no time limit, while authorised-user status lasts three years and can be renewed (Art. 53 of the Law).

Who it applies to

• A food application is filed by a group, meaning an association of producers or processors of the same product. An individual may apply only if they are the sole producer of that product in the area and the area differs markedly from its neighbours (Art. 10 of the Rulebook).
• At the Institute, applicants may be domestic producers (natural and legal persons, also individually), their associations, chambers of commerce, consumer associations and municipal, cantonal, entity and state bodies (Art. 19 of the Law).
• Wine and spirits are governed by separate rules and are not covered here.

What to do

1. Decide which route is yours. Food: the Agency. Anything else: the Institute.
2. Agree on the name, the area and the production method. For food (Agency), form a registered association of producers; at the Institute an association is not required and a single producer may apply. The name must not be generic (the ordinary name of a product).
3. Write a specification: product description, boundaries of the geographical area, production method and evidence of the link between product and area.
4. For food, send the Agency by post and electronically: the application form, proof of the group's registration, the group's decision to protect the name, the specification, the single document and a confirmation from a conformity assessment body that it can certify the product (Art. 11 of the Rulebook).
5. The Agency checks the form (gaps must be fixed within 30 days), then the Commission examines the substance, which takes up to six months. A notice is published in the Official Gazette of BiH and the specification on the Agency's website.
6. After publication there are two months for objections by third parties. If there is none, or it is rejected, the Agency issues the registration decision.
7. After registration, each producer using the name must have conformity with the specification confirmed by an authorised body.
8. At the Institute, the application is made on form OGP-01 with a description of the area and the product characteristics. The Institute examines it and publishes it in its official bulletin; objections may be filed within three months of publication. A registration decision follows. Each producer then applies for authorised-user status.

Deadlines and amounts

• Agency: 30 KM (application), 500 KM (procedure), 30 KM (register entry); objection 50 KM, specification change 100 KM, new user entry 100 KM, per the Decision on fees (Official Gazette of BiH 34/19). These amounts come from the Agency's guide, so check them before paying.
• Institute: the tariff for the application is 100 KM under the Decision amending the Tariff of administrative fees (Official Gazette of BiH 15/14). Ask the Institute whether this is still the amount.
• An Institute decision can be appealed to the Institute's Appeals Commission within 15 days, then challenged before the Court of BiH within 30 days. An Agency decision cannot be appealed, but an administrative dispute before the Court of BiH may be started by a lawsuit within 60 days of receiving the decision (Art. 19 of the Law on Administrative Disputes of BiH, Official Gazette of BiH 19/02, 88/07, 83/08 and 74/10).

What is already protected in Herzegovina

• Nevesinjski krompir (Nevesinje potato), geographical indication: the application was filed by the association of Nevesinje potato producers "Nevesinje" (notice in Official Gazette of BiH 10/20). Registration decisions were handed over in Mostar in 2020.
• Ekstra djevičansko maslinovo ulje Hercegovine (Extra virgin olive oil of Herzegovina), designation of origin; the Agency says an application for EU protection is being prepared.
• Hercegovački uštipak, traditional speciality guaranteed, decision of 11 June 2026 (Official Gazette of BiH 42/26).
• The full list is on the Agency's interactive map. We did not find a public register at the Institute, so ask the Institute whether the name you want is already taken.

What is coming

In February 2026 the Council of Ministers approved a draft of a new law on the protection of geographical indications. Under the shortened procedure, the House of Representatives adopted it in first reading at its 39th session on 19 May 2026 and in second reading at its 41st session on 22 July 2026. The House of Peoples must also adopt it and had not considered it by its sessions of 27 July 2026, so the 2010 Law (Official Gazette of BiH 53/10) still applies. Before relying on this, check parlament.ba and the Official Gazette of BiH.

Where to go

• Food Safety Agency of BiH, Mostar: food, the guide and the interactive map of protected products.
• Institute for Intellectual Property of BiH, Kneza Domagoja bb, 88000 Mostar, tel. +387 36 334 382, ipr.gov.ba: other products.
• Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management of Republika Srpska: the Agency's guide says entity ministries support interested producers, so ask there about conditions.

Laws and sources

• Rulebook on quality schemes for food products (Official Gazette of BiH 90/18)
• Law on the Protection of Geographical Indications (Official Gazette of BiH 53/10)
• Rulebook on the procedure for recognition of indications of origin of products, designations of origin and geographical indications (Official Gazette of BiH 109/10)
• Decision amending the Tariff of administrative fees (Official Gazette of BiH 15/14)
• Decision registering the TSG "Hercegovački uštipak" (Official Gazette of BiH 42/26)
• Interactive map of protected products, Food Safety Agency of BiH