Geographic Indicators

Protection and enforcement

July 24, 2009
Geographic Indicators

Only products that meet the various geographical and quality criteria may use the protected indication. It is also prohibited to combine the indication with words such as “style”, “type”, “imitation” or “method” in connection with the protected indications, or to do anything that might imply that the product meets the specifications (e.g., using distinctive packaging associated with the protected product).

No Comments »

Objectives of the protection

July 24, 2009
Geographic Indicators

As with other intellectual property rights, the use of geographical indications is intended to increase the income of rights holders. The preambles to the Regulations cite consumer demand for quality foodstuffs and identify a number of goals for the protection regimes:

• the promotion of products with specific characteristics, particularly those coming from less-favoured or rural areas
• the improvement of the income of farmers, in return for a “genuine effort to improve quality”
• the retention of population in rural areas
• the provision of clear and succinct information to consumers regarding product origin.

The provision of a recompense for efforts to improve quality and the need for consumer protection are often cited as justifications for trademark protection in other domains, and geographical indications operate in a similar manner to trade marks.

No Comments »

Protected foods

July 24, 2009
Geographic Indicators

These laws protect the names of wines, cheeses, hams, sausages, olives, beers, Balsamic vinegar and even regional breads, fruits, and vegetables. Foods such as Gorgonzola, Parmigiano-Reggiano, Melton Mowbray pork pies, Asiago cheese, Camembert de Normandie and Champagne can only be labelled as such if they come from the designated region. To qualify as Roquefort, for example, cheese must be made from milk of a certain breed of sheep, and matured in the natural caves near the town of Roquefort in the Aveyron region of France, where it is infected with the spores of a fungus (Penicillium roqueforti) that grows in these caves.

No Comments »

Protected Geographical Status

July 24, 2009
Geographic Indicators

Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) and Traditional Speciality Guaranteed (TSG) are geographical indications, or more precisely regimes within the Protected Geographical Status (PGS) framework defined in European Union law to protect the names of regional foods. The law (enforced within the EU and being gradually expanded internationally via bilateral agreements of the EU with non-EU countries) ensures that only products genuinely originating in that region are allowed in commerce as such. The legislation came into force in 1992. The purpose of the law is to protect the reputation of the regional foods and eliminate the unfair competition and misleading of consumers by non-genuine products, which may be of inferior quality or of different flavour.

No Comments »

Definition of Country of origin

July 24, 2009
Geographic Indicators

In law, definitions of “country of origin” and related terms are defined differently in different jurisdictions. Europe, Canada, and the United States have different definitions for a variety of reasons, including tax treatment, advertising regulations, distribution; even within the European Union, different member states have different legislation. As a result, an individual work can have multiple countries as its “country of origin”, and may even have different countries recognized as originating places for the purpose of different legal jurisdictions. Under copyright law in the United States and other signatories of the Berne Convention, “country of origin” is defined in an inclusive way to ensure the protection of intellectual rights of writers and creators.

No Comments »