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1. Any party to a procedure provided for in this Regulation that is adversely affected by a decision taken by the Office in that procedure may submit an appeal to the Boards of Appeal, referred to in Article 36 (‘the Boards of Appeal’), against that decision. Member States shall have the right to join the appeal.

2. The appeal shall have suspensive effect. A decision of the Office that has not been contested shall take effect on the day following the date of expiry of the period referred to in paragraph 4, first subparagraph.

3. A decision that does not terminate proceedings as regards one of the parties shall only be appealed in the context of an appeal of the final decision.

4. The notice of appeal shall be submitted in writing to the Office within two months of the date of publication of the contested decision. The notice of appeal shall be considered to have been duly submitted only when the fee for appeal has been paid. In the event of an appeal, a written statement setting out the grounds of appeal shall be submitted to the Office within four months of the date of publication of the contested decision.

5. Following an examination of the admissibility of the appeal, the Boards of Appeal shall decide on its merits. The Boards of Appeal shall either exercise any power within the competence of the Geographical Indications Division responsible for the contested decision, or remit the case to that Geographical Indications Division. The Boards of Appeal may, on their own initiative or upon a written, reasoned request of a party, consult the Advisory Board. The Office shall offer alternative dispute resolution, such as mediation services as referred to in Article 170 of Regulation (EU) 2017/1001, with a view to assisting the parties to reach a friendly settlement.

6. Actions may be brought before the General Court against decisions of the Boards of Appeal in relation to appeals, within two months of the date of notification of the decision of the Boards of Appeal, on the grounds of infringement of an essential procedural requirement, infringement of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, infringement of this Regulation or of any rule of law relating to its application, or of misuse of power. The action shall be open to any party to the proceedings before the Boards of Appeal adversely affected by their decision and to any Member State. The General Court shall have jurisdiction to annul or to alter the contested decision.

7. The decisions of the Boards of Appeal shall take effect on the day following the date of expiry of the period referred to in paragraph 6 or, where an action has been brought before the General Court within that period, on the date following the date of dismissal of such action or of dismissal of any appeal filed with the Court of Justice against the decision of the General Court. The Office shall take the necessary measures to comply with the judgement of the General Court or, in the event of an appeal against that judgement, the Court of Justice.

8. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 69 to supplement this Regulation by specifying:

(a) the content of the notice of appeal referred to in paragraph 4 of this Article and the procedure for the submission and the examination of an appeal; and (b) the content and the form of the decisions of the Boards of Appeal as referred to in paragraph 5 of this Article.