Any operator who so requests is automatically a member of the defence and management body as long as it complies with the approved specifications.
An operator may only use a geographical indication if it is a member of the defence and management body for that geographical indication and is entered on the list of operators in the specification or on the list of operators updated and published in the Bulletin officiel de la propriété industrielle in accordance with 5° of Article L. 721-6.
For the purposes of this section, an operator means any natural or legal person who takes part in production or processing activities in accordance with the specification for the geographical indication.