Over time, a product made in a specific place can develop a unique reputation. This reputation is often due to special characteristics present in the place: its people, its climate and its landscape. There are thousands of examples. In the food and drinks sector there are fruits and vegetables, wines, cheeses and cured meats: Champagne; Chedder, Parma ham and Tipperary turnips. In manufacturers there are Persian carpets, Murano glass, Toledo steel and Japanese electronics. Should all these reputations be protected by law and if so how? This book "The Law of Geographical Indications" addresses these questions. The book examines what names can and cannot be protected in national and international law and the nature of the protection given. In the last years there has been a rapid expansion of the protection given to geographical indications. The book looks at the specific systems adopted in some countries and the general systems in others. Protection is most developed in Europe and specific attention is given to the rules in the European Union and the bilateral agreements the EU has forged with many third countries. The book also examines protection in international law from the 1883 Paris Convention on the protection of intellectual property in general to the more recent TRIPs Agreement in the WTO. Also examined are the two most controversial legal issues surrounding the protection of geographical indications, namely, conflicts between trademarks and geographical indications and the generic character of certain names.

Geographical indications of origin of intellectual property rights in Indonesia.

Linking traditional and local products to a specific area is increasingly felt as a necessity in a globalised market, and Geographical Indications (GIs) are emerging as a multifunctional tool capable of performing this and many other functions. This book analyses the evolving nature of EU sui generis GIs by focusing on their key element, the origin link, and concludes that the history of the product in the broad sense has become a major factor to prove the link between a good and a specific place. For the first time, this area of Intellectual Property Law is investigated from three different, although interrelated, perspectives: the history and comparative assessment of the systems of protection of Indications of Geographical Origin adopted in the European jurisdictions from the beginning of the 20th century; the empirical analysis of the trends emerging from the practice of EUGIs; and the policy debates surrounding them and their importance for the fulfilment of the general goals of the EU Common Agricultural Policy. The result is an innovative and rounded analysis of the very nature of the EU Law of GIs that, starting from its past, investigates the present and the likely future of this Intellectual Property Right. This book provides an interesting and innovative contribution to the field and will be of interest to GI scholars and Intellectual Property students, as well as anyone willing to gain a better understanding of this compelling area of law.

This Study deals with intellectual property, in particular, trademarks and geographical indications, as an instrument not only for developing a strong and distinctive brand image for national products and services but also, through such a process, for creating a strong and distinctive nation brand, in both cases, with a view of gaining a competitive advantage in domestic, regional and world markets.

The present book examines both theoretical and practical aspects of the law on indications of geographical origin (IGOs) within the framework of European Union (EU) law, pursuing four distinct yet mutually related aims. First, it discusses theoretical issues of the law on IGOs including its historical foundations, terminology, principles of regulation, legal subjectivity, protection models and loss of protection. Second, it covers the EU law on IGOs from a systematic point of view. Particularly, the systematic review of the EU law on IGOs includes an in-depth analysis of and commentary on the relevant and applicable regulations. Third, it examines current legislative initiatives and further development options for the EU law on IGOs. Finally, it reveals the interrelation of the EU law on one hand and the national laws of EU Member States on the other with regard to IGOs, focusing on harmonized and non-harmonized areas of law.

This book is a unique compilation of comprehensive works covering the potentials, challenges, and realities of geographical indications from an Indian perspective. The book encompasses critical studies on legal, regulatory, and institutional frameworks and debates surrounding geographical indications. The concept of geographical indication has not received paramount importance in India compared to the other forms of intellectual property rights like patents and trademarks, while GI is becoming critical in national and international discourses. It aims at presenting both national and international situations and discussions, which will appeal to readers worldwide. This book in its first part elaborately deals with the genesis of the GI Act, and then it goes on to analyze both substantive as well as procedural aspects of the registration under the Indian GI Act and tries to identify the discrepancy and gaps in the laws. Also, a comparative perspective has been built by analyzing the GI laws and regulations of some developed countries with that of India. The challenges in existing regulation for quality control and enforcement of GI products in the Indian GI Act have been dealt comprehensively by the authors which are critical in achieving the stated objectives of the Act. The book also focuses on the role of geographical indication in the socio-economic development of rural India. The authors have illustrated how the GI can act as an effective mechanism for employment generation and sustainable growth opportunities in different sectors like agriculture, food, and handicraft. The interaction of GI with traditional knowledge and biodiversity and their impact on society is also extensively covered. The book contains real-life case studies by the authors from different states of India highlighting the success stories and missed opportunities of different GIs and the way forward where the GI can function as an effective tool for the overall development of a country and promote international trade. The book will provide law students, scholars from legal and IP disciplines, legal practitioners, producers, and policymakers a factual and multidimensional insight into the GI system in India. This will further promote research in this area, particularly from an Asian perspective and enhance the real-life application of GI to varied products.

Dev Gangjee considers the international legal rules which determine the protection of geographical brands such as Champagne.

This book presents a comprehensive analysis of Geographical Indications (GI) in the Indian context with particular reference to the handloom sector. It discusses themes such as the rationale of GI as IP (intellectual property); the domestic position on GIs; GI protection under various international instruments; handlooms from Gujarat and their GI journey; the efficacy of GIs; and GI structure for handlooms. The volume fills the gap between law and policies and recommends the implementation of an efficient legal system. It highlights the status of Indian handlooms, a sector that represents the country’s cultural heritage and supports a range of livelihoods. We examine India’s GI protection system with its diverse cultures and explore how GI can help recognize, support and promote these products to bring socio-economic benefits. The work documents policy measures undertaken for the revival, restructuring and promotion of Indian handlooms and handicrafts, and will serve as an important intervention in Indian law on GI. An investigative study that evaluates the current law and policy on GI protection through detailed case studies and empirical research on select Indian handlooms, this book will be useful to scholars and researchers of geography, economics, development studies, sociology, law and public policy. It will also interest policymakers, legal practitioners, textile and handloom professionals, design and business administration institutes, media, arts and crafts museums and civil society organizations working on handlooms or in intellectual property.

In an increasingly globalised world, place and provenance matter like never before. The law relating to Geographical Indications (GIs) regulates designations which signal this provenance. While Champagne, Prosciutto di Parma, Café de Colombia and Darjeeling are familiar designations, the relevant legal regimes have existed at the margins for over a century. In recent years, a critical mass of scholarship has emerged and this book celebrates its coming of age. Its objective is to facilitate an interdisciplinary conversation, by providing sure-footed guidance across contested terrain as well as enabling future avenues of enquiry to emerge. The distinctive feature of this volume is that it reflects a multi-disciplinary conversation between legal scholars, policy makers, legal practitioners, historians, geographers, sociologists, economists and anthropologists. Experienced contributors from across these domains have thematically explored: (1) the history and conceptual underpinnings of the GI as a legal category; (2) the effectiveness of international protection regimes; (3) the practical operation of domestic protection systems; and (4) long-unresolved as well as emerging critical issues. Specific topics include a detailed interrogation of the history and functions of terroir; the present state as well as future potential of international GI protection, including the Lisbon Agreement, 2015; conflicts between trade marks and GIs; the potential for GIs to contribute to rural or territorial development as well as sustain traditional or Indigenous knowledge; and the vexed question of generic use. This book is therefore intended for all those with an interest in GIs across a range of disciplinary backgrounds. Students, scholars, policy makers and practitioners will find this Handbook to be an invaluable resource.

Since the first edition of this indispensable volume nearly a decade ago, great changes have taken place in the national and international legal and regulatory frameworks for geographical indications (GIs) systems for food products. Rather than limitation (designed to prevent the use of ‘culture’ for protectionist purposes), the preponderance now favours recognition of GIs, with enforcement directed at protection. While the World Trade Organization (WTO) and its Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) remain the multilateral legal benchmarks for GIs, the field has been assertively entered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) with the 2015 Geneva Act (which adds GIs to the Lisbon Agreement), national laws in key jurisdictions, and bilateral and proposed mega-regional trade agreements with provisions on food vastly more detailed than the relevant TRIPS articles. Still notable for its thorough exploration of the meaning of the TRIPS commitments, the second edition brings to its commentary and guidance a new perspective that takes the changed conditions fully into account. With no sacrifice of depth, the author covers a wide range of issues such as the following: • estimates of the value added by origin and tradition; • GIs as a tool for national and local development; • growing importance of the concepts heirloom, heritage, and local; • minimum standards of protection under TRIPS; • administration and policing of product characteristics; • procedures followed by the European Union, India, Japan and others; • applicable laws concerning labelling and unfair business practices; • traditional communal nature of GIs versus private property characterization; • significance of the WTO’s Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade; • administrative and procedural rules at WTO, regional, and national levels; • the role of the Codex Alimentarius; and • the role of the TRIPS Council. Given that experience and research have revealed the great financial and cultural value of GIs, this thoroughly updated detailed analysis and interpretation of current trends in food product regulation worldwide is of crucial importance to an adequate understanding of the trade rules that apply to the recognition, protection, and enforcement of GIs and competing names. It is sure to be of great value to those concerned with this specialized field, whether practitioners, food producers and traders, jurists, officials, policymakers, or academics.