New world for appellations of origin: Lisbon renaissance in Geneva

The Diplomatic Conference convened to adopt a new Act of the Lisbon Agreement met at the headquarters of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) on 11 to 21 May 2015 and reached agreement to adopt the Geneva Act.

In preparation for the Diplomatic Conference, the ad hoc Working Group met 10 times from 2009 to 2014 to discuss and draw up the draft text that has yielded this new Act and the Regulations under the new Act.

One of the primary objectives of the new Act is to make the existing Lisbon Agreement on Appellations of Origin and their International Registration, which currently has only 28 Contracting Parties, more attractive for accession by new members.

Some of the main changes will permit accession to the Act by intergovernmental organizations and the international registration of both appellations of origin and geographical indications (up to now the Agreement provided only for the registration of appellations of origin) under a system that is of course in conformity with the TRIPS Agreement while also grounded in many respects in regulations concerning these modalities adopted by the European Union. The Geneva Act also includes Articles dealing with the (broad) scope of protection for geographical indications and appellations of origin in the Contracting Parties and with the subject of official fees (rather unusual in European Union regulations in this area).

Two intergovernmental organizations evinced particular interest over the course of the drafting process for the new Act, namely, the European Union (with the OHIM also present as a separate observer in its own right) and, to a lesser extent, the African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI). As the efforts of the Working Group earned credibility with the drafting of proposed full wordings for the texts, it sparked the interest of more and more countries, and the delegations of certain world powers (the U.S., Russia, China), which initially either did not take part or were essentially passive participants, became more active, greatly enriching the deliberations, raising very interesting issues and proposals from a variety of legal, economic, and cultural perspectives.

Like the current Lisbon Agreement, registration is not limited to certain goods. Rather, appellations of origin and geographical indications can be registered for all types of goods (agricultural and non-agricultural), provided they comply with requirements.

The Geneva Act will enter into force three months after five Contracting Parties have deposited their instruments of ratification or accession.

It would be remiss to fail to mention the important role played by the delegations of organizations accorded observer status in the Working Group and at the Diplomatic Conference, chief among them CEIPI, for its rigorous academic contributions, MARQUES, oriGIn, and INTA, representing the interests of their members and the general interest of the community at large in achieving a text with the clearest possible wording so as to avert instances of legal uncertainty.

Author: Miguel Ángel Medina

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Geographical indications for non-agricultural products, next scheme of protection in the European Union?

Two days ago, the European Commission launched a green paper public consultation on a possible extension of geographical indication (GI) protection in the European Union to non-agricultural products.

These products, up to now overlooked, are of great importance to a number of different economically relevant sectors at both the national and Community levels (e.g., shoe-making, watch-making, and crafts in particular, the prototypical candidates for this possible new scheme of protection and the main products protected by geographical indications in countries like India and certain Latin American nations).

This new GI scheme would likely be inspired by the European Union's current GI scheme for agricultural products and foodstuffs, although it might have certain nuances of its own, or at least some differences in practical terms.

The possible new EU GI scheme is something that has been talked about frequently in recent years. I have held some conversations on the subject with the EU delegation at the WIPO WG. They seemed not to be very sure of whether it would finally happen, and it can be expected to take some time, but since there are many interest groups pushing for it and it holds out political and economic interest for the EU to negotiate bilateral agreements, I assume that it will come about sooner or later.

The Green Paper consists of two parts. One part asks about the current means of protection provided at the national and EU levels and the potential benefits which could be achieved by improved GI protection in the EU, and the second refers to more technical questions to seek the views of interested parties on possible options for EU-level GI protection for non-agri foodstuffs.

Publication on the EU Commission's website has opened a deadline ending for submitting contributions on 28 October 2014.

Author: Miguel Ángel Medina

Visit our website: http://www.elzaburu.es/

A toast with sangria to the new EU regulation on geographical indications of aromatised wine products

By Katherine Price
(Vía Wikimedia)

On 20 March 2014 EU Regulation 251/2014 on geographical indications of aromatised wine products was published in the Official Journal of the European Union. The new regulation is to take the place of Council Regulation (EEC) 1601/91, although it is not until 28 March 2015 that the former will actually be applied, with the exception of certain transitional measures, and the latter will be repealed. Regulation 251/2014 provides greater protection for geographical indications of this kind, on a par with that already enjoyed by others regulated at the Community level (those relating to agricultural produce and foodstuffs, spirits and wines).

Aromatized wine products are divided into three categories: aromatised wines, aromatised wine-based drinks and aromatised wine-product cocktails.

The sphere of protection of aromatised wine products is extended with respect, for example, to names which evoke these geographical indications and it is also stipulated that the GIs protected under the regulation shall not become generic.

The use of expressions such as ‘style’, ‘type’, ‘method’, ‘as produced in’, ‘flavour’, or the like is prohibited, as is the use of terms similar to any of the regulated sales denominations in the designation, presentation or labeling of alcoholic beverages which fail to comply with the requirements of the regulation. At the same time, rules for the use of those sales denominations and indications of provenance and for the registration of geographical indications in respect of goods of this kind are laid down, while the scope of protection and verification requirements are defined.

Turning to more specific details, it is to be noted that the word “Clarea” may only be used as a sales denomination for products made in Spain and that "Sangría"/"Sangria" is reserved for those made in Spain or Portugal.  When the product is made elsewhere, those words may be used only to supplement the sales denomination ‘aromatised wine- based drink’ and on condition that they are accompanied by the words ‘produced in …’ followed by the name of the Member State of production or of a more restricted region.

Author: Miguel Angel Medina

Visit our website: http://www.elzaburu.es/