Objectives of the protection

July 24, 2009
Intellectual Property News and Interesting Facts

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.