Relocating the Law of Geographical Indications

Abstract

There is considerable variation in the nature, scope and institutional forms of legal protection for valuable geographical brands such as Champagne, Colombian coffee and Darjeeling tea. While regional products are increasingly important for producers, consumers and policy makers, the international legal regime under the TRIPS Agreement remains unclear. Adopting a historical approach, Dev Gangjee explores the rules regulating these valuable geographical designations within international intellectual property law. He traces the emergence of geographical indications as a distinct category while investigating the key distinguishing feature of the link between regional products and their places of origin. The research addresses long-standing puzzles, such as the multiplicity of regimes operating in this area; the recognition of the link between product and place and its current articulation in the TRIPS definition; the varying scope of protection; and the extent to which geographical indications ought to be treated as a category distinct from trade marks.

The Debate Between the European Parliament and the Commission on the Definition of Protected Designation of Origin: Why the Parliament Is Right

“…42 It is not possible here to explain in depth the historical evolution of this concept. 43 However, it is expedient to remember that French geographer Roger Dion stressed the importance of the human intervention over the soil as early as the 1940s. 44 This marked the beginning of the modern understanding of terroir that reversed the previous, ''narrow'', version of this concept that was generally based on a naturalistic vision, according to which the word meant just ''soil'', sometimes in a pejorative sense.…”

“…This observation is absolutely correct since, nowadays, it is indisputably recognised that the human element must always be present. 48 This is due to the fact that the natural and human elements are different sides of the same coin. Indeed, a terroir product is the result of the effects of a specific physical/natural environment over a geographical area.…”

“…68 Thus the EU Commission is explicitly endorsing an international regime which has been broadened and which now encompasses a model of protection of indications of geographical origin that accepts the reputational link. As outlined above, 69 the reputational link tends to be very broad and linked to human intervention, 70 ranging from market reputation to the image of the given product resulting from its history. However, the Proposal put forward by the Commission is aimed at limiting the human element while highlighting the role of the natural factors only.…”

Vineyard zonation based on natural terroir factors using multivariate statistics – Case study Burgenland (Austria)

“…In practice, this means the wine must not only come from a specific region, but must also be made by approved procedures and meet specific attributes. The EU's third major approach to GI is that the GI product has total protection from unauthorized use so that new products cannot be labeled in any way that can be mistaken for a GI product (Gangjee, 2012).…”

Can origin labels re-shape relationships along international supply chains? – The case of Café de Colombia

“…Unified worldwide legal systems for GIs do not exist (Giovannucci et al 2009;Gangjee 2012). The protection outside the country of origin can be achieved through international open systems (e.g.…”