The Socio-Economics of Geographical Indications A Review of Empirical Evidence from Europe
by Dwijen Rangnekar
UNCTAD-ICTSD Project on IPRs and Sustainable Development Series • Issue Paper 8
The inclusion of geographical indications (GIs), itself a new category of intellectual property rights, within the ambit of the TRIPs Agreement is well-appreciated as signifying the negotiating success of the European Union. While the TRIPs Agreement heralds a significant upgrading of the standards of protection for indications of geographical origin (IGOs)1 there remains the problem of a hierarchy in the levels of protection based on an arbitrary categorisation of goods. Interestingly, unlike any other IP-instrument in the TRIPs Agreement, demandeurs for stronger protection include many developing countries. The interest of developing countries is based on a presumption of strong commercial potential as IGO-goods tend to be from the rural, agricultural and handicraft sectors of the economy. In this respect, growth of niche markets segments like ‘fair trade’, ‘organic’, and ‘authentic’ and consumer interest in the source of products is supportive. However, it is the nature of multilateral trade negotiations at WTO that concessions in other areas will have to be made by demandeurs to secure their desired gains in the area of GIs. Balancing gains and concessions requires an analysis of different policy outcomes. A first step in that direction, at least for demandeurs, is to understand the evidence and impact of GIs. This paper collates and critically reviews evidence on GIs from several European case studies.