Geographical Identities

Recent News:

January 2010 OriGIn Newsletter here

New, updated, OriGin website www.origin-gi.com

December 2009 OriGIn Newsletter here

14 October 2009, Cologne, Germany: Seized imitations of Parmigiano- Reggiano

Following a request from the “Consorzio del Formaggio Parmigiano-Reggiano”, the Court of Cologne ordered the seizure of cheese products from Argentina commercialized under the labels “Parmesano” and “Reggianito”.
Those products were exposed at one of the world's most important Food & Beverages Fair - “Anuga” in Cologne (Germany). The German Court recognized that the use of the denominations “Parmesano” or “Reggianito” for cheese was an evocation of the PDO Parmigiano-Reggiano, according to Article 13 of EC Council Regulation 510/06.

This decision is important for all GI producers (protection of their rights) as well as for consumers (authenticity of PDO/PGI products)!

For more information: http://tiny.cc/VGOyj
Ms. Ida Puzone
Project Manager
oriGIn

August 19, 2009

June/July 2009

As the Kona Coffee Farmers Association’s representative, President Bruce Corker attended 3 days of agricultural conferences at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, June 30-July 2. His summary follows:

The first 2 days were dedicated to the “Agile Agriculture Summit” in which more than 125 delegates representing farmers, retailers, government agencies and various universities participated. The focus of the conference was “How to connect small and medium-scale agricultural producers with lucrative large markets”. The consensus from the conference sessions was that small and medium-scale producers must join together in co-ops or marketing alliances to achieve volume and market power to gain access to large markets and to the higher profits those markets offer.

On the third day, the “U.S. Place-of-Origin Conference” was convened.  This event was organized by Elizabeth Barham of the University of Missouri.  As KCFA Board members will recall, Dr. Barham met with us when she was in Kona this past January and discussed her work on place-of-origin issues. At this July 2 Conference more than 50 representatives of producer groups, marketers, government agencies and universities participated in a full day of conference sessions.  Panel presentations were offered on geographical identity issues faced by Kona coffee, Idaho potatoes, Napa Valley wine, and Missouri Northern pecans.  The similarity of problems faced by producers of other specialty agriculture crops from counterfeiting and unscrupulous marketing are strikingly similar to those we face with Kona coffee. Conference participants decided to explore the formation of a national organization of producers of American-origin-products and to create a national inventory of US origin specialty crops.

At the July 15 KCFA Board meeting, following Bruce’s report on the U.S. Place-of Origin Conference, the following resolution was adopted endorsing the two initiatives formulated at the Conference:

RESOLUTION OF JULY 15, 2009 ENDORSING U.S. PLACE-OF-ORIGIN INITIATIVES

WHEREAS, on July 2, 2009, a U.S. Place-of-Origin conference was held on the University of Arkansas campus in Fayetteville, Arkansas to discuss protections of U.S. place-of-origin products such as Kona coffee, Idaho potatoes, Napa Valley wine, and Missouri Northern pecans; and

WHEREAS, the U.S. Place-of-Origin Conference was organized by Dr. Elizabeth Barham of the University of Missouri, was hosted by the University of Arkansas, and included representatives of producers, retailers, government agencies and universities; and

WHEREAS, at the conference Dr. Barham announced the formation of an Exploratory Committee to examine the feasibility of establishing a national association for producers of American origin products; and

WHEREAS, a second initiative to develop a national inventory of American origin products and to lay the groundwork for more research into their economic, social and environmental benefits was also enthusiastically received by conference participants; and

WHEREAS, protection of the regional identity of Kona coffee name from deceptive and fraudulent use is one of the principal goals of the Kona Coffee Farmers Association; and

WHEREAS, the Kona Coffee Farmers Association believes that a national association for producers of American origin products can contribute to protection of the reputations of regionally-identified specialty agricultural crops and can contribute to protection of consumers from deception and fraud;

THEREFORE,

IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE KONA COFFEE FARMERS ASSOCIATION:

1) That the Kona Coffee Farmers Association expresses its appreciation to Dr. Barham for organizing, and to the University of Arkansas for hosting, the U.S. Place-of Origin Conference of July 2, 2009; and

2) That the Kona Coffee Farmers Association strongly endorses the conference’s formation of the Exploratory Committee and pledges to work with the Exploratory Committee for establishment of a national association for producers of American origin products; and

3) That the Kona Coffee Farmers Association also strongly endorses the conference’s initiative to develop a national inventory of American origin products.

Adopted at Captain Cook, Hawaii, July 15, 2009.
Attested to by:
Mary Lake, Secretary
Kona Coffee Farmers Association

June 26, 2009

“Teruel Declaration” (Teruel, 26 June 2009)

The members of OriGIn – the Organization for an International Geographical Indications Network – meeting in Teruel for its fourth General Assembly, agree, on behalf of millions of producers from all over the world, to adopt the following Declaration:

By providing jobs for millions of individuals around the world, helping preserve the environment and ensuring that the globalization of markets does not encroach on the diversity, quality and tradition of origin products, Geographical Indications (GIs) play a vital role in our economies and societies. Producers, both from developing and developed countries, increasingly rely on GIs for the sustainable development of their communities. Existing multilateral rules on GIs, however, have hitherto proved not to be fit to prevent abuse and misleading marketing techniques, which unduly reduce producers’ market shares and tarnish the reputation of GIs. Without reforming the major international instruments regulating the field, the very GI concept will be at stake.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) Doha Development Round

After years of intense negotiations within the WTO Doha Development Round, we welcome the “Draft Modalities for TRIPS-Related Issues” (Majority Proposal) which were tabled by a very large majority of WTO Members in July 2008. This document provides for the extension to all products of the protection conferred by Article 23 of TRIPS, as well as the establishment of a multilateral Register for all GIs. We do believe that, by extending the balanced protection currently enjoyed by wines and spirits to all GIs, an evident and unjustifiable discrimination among products would be removed. The “GI Extension” would increase the certainty
of the international legal framework and provide all GI producers with the legal means to prevent the misuse of their GIs in foreign jurisdictions, while contributing to sustainable development of local communities and better consumer protection.

On the other hand, we believe the negotiations shall meet the ambition to set up a Register which will truly facilitate the protection of GIs. The multilateral Register as proposed in the Majority Proposal, open to all Members and to be taken into account by all, would fulfill the very nature of the WTO. Moreover, it would represent an invaluable source of information for domestic authorities when taking decisions regarding the registration and the protection of trademarks and GIs. We consider a Register not affecting the ability of domestic authorities to decide on GI protection should be acceptable to all Members.

We do believe that the Majority Proposal represents a historical chance to reach a milestone agreement on intellectual property within the WTO. We encourage trade negotiators and policy-makers to look at the Majority Proposal as an opportunity and take into consideration the fact that it represents a balanced compromise among various positions and legal traditions.

Any outcome which would not truly facilitate the protection of GIs would undermine the socio-economic potential arising out of origin products and put at risk the development opportunities of millions of producers around the world. In the spirit of the “Doha Development Agenda”, OriGIn fully supports the “Draft Modalities for TRIPS-Related Issues”.

Other international initiatives: We think that the Lisbon Agreement on the Protection of Appellations of Origin and their International Registration (Lisbon Agreement) is a key instrument to facilitate the international protection of appellations of origin. Enlarging the number of contracting parties would greatly increase the Agreement’s effectiveness. Moreover, we envisage the opportunity to further clarify the definition of “appellations of origin”, as provided for by the Lisbon Agreement.

We do share the view that for a product to be defined as an appellation of origin, either its quality or its characteristics have to be linked to the territory. We take note with interest of the Jamaican proposal put forward at WIPO aimed to ensure protection for country names at the international level. Moreover, we do believe that GIs shall be fully included in the scope of application of the Agreement on Counterfeiting and Trade-Related Aspects (ACTA).

Finally, we call on multilateral organizations dealing with GIs to better reflect the point of view of producers in their technical cooperation and dissemination activities. Since its establishment, OriGIn has adopted a pragmatic approach, focusing on the socio-economic benefits arising from GIs as well as on the level playing field producers need to do business in such a specific sector. We do believe that, any truly global and impartial discussion on the role of GIs in sustainable development cannot leave aside the perspective of the Organization representing GIs producers from all over the world.

Text and Photos of Harold Hoogasian, KCFA International Liaison's visit to Teruel, Spain for the OriGIn conference, are available here