Revision of International Intellectual Property System Approved

On May 20, 2015, at a diplomatic conference held in Geneva, Switzerland, representative delegates from each of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) member states approved the Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement on Appellations of Origin and Geographical Indications (Geneva Act).  The approved revision now allows for the international registration of qualifying products under the term “geographical indication (GI).”

WIPO is a United Nations organization, established in 1967, that seeks to provide a system that “promote[s] the development of measures designed to facilitate the efficient protection of intellectual property throughout the world and to harmonize national legislation in this field.” Currently, WIPO has 188 member state; including the United States of America.

Prior to the recent approval of the Geneva Act, in order to receive intellectual property name protection regarding the identification of a product’s geographic origin, items had to qualify under the term “appellation of origin (AO).”  To qualify under AO, 1) all of a product’s raw materials must come from the place of origin being claimed; and 2) if the product is processed, that processing must occur in the place of origin being claimed.

While the revised Geneva Act continues to maintain AO protection, it now provides for an easier to attain protection regarding a product’s geographic origin.  Under the revised Geneva Act, items may now acquire geographic name protection if they qualify as a “geographical indication (GI);” a mere claim that a product originated in a specific geographical area (such as Mexican Tequila).  A GI does not require proof of, or allow the additional claims, that all the products raw materials are from that location or that the processing of the product occurred at that location. 

The revised Geneva Act is scheduled to go into effect “three months after five eligible parties have deposited their instruments of ratification or accession.”

Written by M. Sean High - Staff Attorney

June 5, 2015

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development Releases Trade and Environment Report 2013

On September 18, 2013, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development released the Trade and Environment Report 2013.  It is subtitled “Wake up before it is too late: Make agriculture truly sustainable now for food security in a changing climate.”  More than 60 international experts contributed to the report.  This report states that persistent world hunger, continuing rural poverty, increasing populations, and increasing environmental concerns should be treated as one collective crisis.

The report contends that imbalances between where food is produced and where it is needed would need to be fixed, as would the current agriculture trade regulations and the power imbalance between the agricultural input and food-processing markets.  The report recommends a shift away from “conventional, monoculture-based… industrial production” of food which relies heavily on external inputs such as fertilizer toward “mosaics of sustainable regenerative production systems that also considerably improve the productivity of small-scale farmers and foster rural development.”  The report also discusses how climate change will drastically impact agricultural production and cites a number of trends which are indicative of a mounting crisis.

The report emphasizes a need to make agriculture more sustainable.  It says that monoculture and industrial farming methods are not providing sufficient affordable food where it is needed and are causing environmental damage.  High priority should be given to helping the rural poor become food self-sufficient or to earn enough income from agricultural production in order to buy food, according to the report.  It further says that the past strategy of focusing on specialized production and export of “lucrative” cash crops while relying on foreign markets for staple products is no longer working.  This strategy, according to the report, has created cost pressures, furthered the environmental crisis of agriculture, and has reduced resilience in agriculture.

See the full report here.  Find the UNCTAD official press release here.  For more information on UNCTAD, visit their website.

Written by Alyssa Looney – Research Assistant

The Agricultural Law Resource and Reference Center

@PSUAgLawCenter

September 27, 2013