GIs toolbox

Bibliography

CLERMONTELLE, A., LELLINGER, A. & AUBARD, A. The protection of Geographical Indications on the Internet, AREPO practical guide. Bordeaux. (2023)

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The Interreg Sudoe AGROSMARTglobal project has identified the need to strengthen the protection of agricultural and agri-food products with Geographical Indications (GIs) on the Internet. GIs play an important role in terms of exports for EU countries and are particularly affected by counterfeiting and cybersquatting because of their [...]

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The Interreg Sudoe AGROSMARTglobal project has identified the need to strengthen the protection of agricultural and agri-food products with Geographical Indications (GIs) on the Internet.

GIs play an important role in terms of exports for EU countries and are particularly affected by counterfeiting and cybersquatting because of their reputation and attractiveness, which are attracting growing interest from third parties.

Thus, professionals who are legitimate holders of geographical indications must develop a comprehensive, prudent and exhaustive defence strategy, in order to take advantage of the undeniable benefits of an Internet presence, while minimising the risks of infringements, which are often complex to contain.

It is in this context that AREPO has decided to draw up a practical guide for GI producer groups and their members, aimed at providing them with deciphered and clarified information on the functioning of the Internet in terms of intellectual property law and to present the concrete steps to be taken to effectively protect their GI from infringement on the Internet.

The guide focuses more particularly on the procedures applicable to France, with highlights on the specific cases of Spain and Portugal. It is nevertheless relevant for all producer groups in the EU, given the similarities in the approaches and procedures of European countries in this area.

Correspondence: Anne CLERMONTELLE, eu-projects@arepoquality.eu

Flinzberger, L., Zinngrebe, Y., Bugalho, M.N. et al. EU-wide mapping of ‘Protected Designations of Origin’ food products (PDOs) reveals correlations with social-ecological landscape values. Agron. Sustain. Dev. 42, 43 (2022)

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The Geographical Indications (GIs) scheme is the EU’s primary policy tool for increasing the market values of geographically distinct food products. Although GIs are linked to the landscapes of food production, little is known about the social-ecological values they represent, mainly due to a lack of spatial data. In [...]

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The Geographical Indications (GIs) scheme is the EU’s primary policy tool for increasing the market values of geographically distinct food products. Although GIs are linked to the landscapes of food production, little is known about the social-ecological values they represent, mainly due to a lack of spatial data. In this study, we, therefore, mapped all 638 food products labeled as Protected Designations of Origin (PDOs), using NUTS-3 areas as proxies for their actual extent, and correlated their distribution with 13 social-ecological indicators. By compiling this novel dataset, we show that the presence of PDOs strongly overlaps with environmental and cultural values. We reveal positive correlations of PDO frequency with high nature value farmland, semi-natural agriculture, tourism, and cultural heritage indicators. Further, we find that PDOs occur more often in economically weaker areas with older and declining populations. Besides differences in PDO distribution between northern and southern EU countries, we find different correlation patterns across the four largest food categories. For example, cheese and meat products are less correlated to environmental values compared to oils and fats, or fruit, vegetables and cereals. On that basis, we identify the potential of PDOs to support structurally deprived areas and propose PDOs as entry points for sustainable transformation and rural development policies—while simultaneously contributing to the conservation of cultural landscapes and their associated environmental values. As outlined in the Green Deal of the European Union and its Farm to Fork strategy, PDOs should be a part of this transformation. Based on the results of this study, we discuss more specifically for which production systems and under what enabling conditions PDOs are fit for this challenge. We recommend that future governance interventions for a sustainable transformation of EU’s agriculture should take the differences across regions and product categories into account.

Zappalaglio A., Study on the Functioning of the EU GI System, 2022, (together with Suelen Carls et al.) (2022)

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This study is the largest empirical work on the functioning of EU agricultural GIs and it aims to provide more insight into the practical nature, functioning and foundations of the EU sui generis GI regime for the protection of agricultural products and foodstuffs.

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This study is the largest empirical work on the functioning of EU agricultural GIs and it aims to provide more insight into the practical nature, functioning and foundations of the EU sui generis GI regime for the protection of agricultural products and foodstuffs.

Penker M., Scaramuzzi S., Edelmann H., Belletti G., Marescotti A., Casabianca F., Qui˜nones-Ruiz X., Polycentric structures nurturing adaptive food quality governance – Lessons learned from geographical indications in the European Union, Journal of Rural Studies 89 (2022) 208–221 (2022)

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In contrast to harmonised international food quality standards, local producers of food that is protected as geographical indication can adapt production rules. In a comparative multi-method case study approach, we analyse how constitutional and collective choice rules affect the negotiation of diverse interests and the adaptability of food quality standards [...]

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In contrast to harmonised international food quality standards, local producers of food that is protected as geographical indication can adapt production rules. In a comparative multi-method case study approach, we analyse how constitutional and collective choice rules affect the negotiation of diverse interests and the adaptability of food quality standards in France, Italy and Austria. In France, a national organisation with a plurality of technical expertise guarantees the coherence of geographical indications based on notions of terroir and heritage. Italy’s rural development approach secures very elaborated voting rules for producer groups and broader interaction on the regional level to accomplish broadly legitimated decisions. In the Austrian intellectual property rights approach, producers self-define the constitutional and collective choice rules and have the fullest
autonomy and responsibility in standard setting. We conclude that polycentric interlinkages across scales and sectors – though delaying adaptation – support the long-term conservation of the products’ identity via broad legitimisation. Both, the autonomy of local producers to innovatively adapt to change as well as a strong product identity are key for the long-term viability of geographical indications.

oriGIn position paper on Distinctive Geographical Names in the United States (US) (2022)

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The US is one of the few countries in the world that does not provide an independent system to recognize and protect GIs. Several schemes are available for that purpose (in some cases they might overlap, as a product’s name might benefit from more than one of them). The [...]

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The US is one of the few countries in the world that does not provide an independent system to recognize and protect GIs. Several schemes are available for that purpose (in some cases they might overlap, as a product’s name might benefit from more than one of them).

The above-mentioned situation does not serve legal certainty and rather raises practical issues for the American private actors relying on geographical names for their business, as well as for consumers.

In its position paper oriGIn is willing to engage with the US stakeholders (both public authorities and the private sector), presenting several proposals.