DESIGNATIONS OF ORIGIN WITHIN THE EU: LEGAL CHALLENGES 59 whose production is relatively influenced by certain human factors associated with an area (so that they could fall under the category, if any, of geographical indication) are unduly subsumed into the designation of origin status. International attempts mirror this confusion, which risks diluting the designations of origin system. The scope of geographical designations is regulated in ways far from the desirable uniformity. In Latin America, for instance, geographical designations have been recently instituted and in ways plagued with dissimilarities, most notably, concerning its legal provisions. In Argentina and Bolivia, designations are currently confined to agri-food, whereas in Peru, Chile or Mexico, they are extended to industrial products and handicrafts39. Finally, in Brazil – where geographical indications are broken down into indications of origin and designations of origin40 –, it is specifically stated that both protections might be afforded to both products and services. Furthermore, some EU Member States have specific regulations on the protection of indications of non-agricultural products. It is worth mentioning French Law no. 2014-344 of 17 March 2015 on consumption, amending the Intellectual Property Code, which introduced, alongside a first section on designations of origin (for which it refers back to the French Consumer Code), a second one on “geographical indications that protect industrial products or handicrafts”. These geographical indications – which, as noted, are different from the designations of origin provided for in the previous section – are defined as “the designation of a geographical area or place that identifies non-agricultural products, foodstuffs, and those originating from the forest or the sea, displaying a certain quality, standing or other characteristics that may be essentially attributable to that geographical origin”41. This definition is patently identical to the European geographical indication. 39 MOLINA, M. S. (2015). “La protección de la denominación de origen, indicación geográfica e indicación de procedencia. Estudio comparativo de las legislaciones de los Estados latinoamericanos y español”, Revista Iberoamericana de Viticultura, Agroindustria y Ruralidad, vol. 6, no. 2, p. 48. 40 Under article 176 of Intellectual Property Act, of 14 May 1996, “a geographical indication shall be either an indication of origin or a designation of origin”, going on to define them in exactly the same terms as those used in European law, barring the scope. DE SOUSA BORDA, A. L. (2015). “Denominaciones de origen en Brasil: situación actual. Su desarrollo: jurisprudencia y avances de los productores”, Revista Iberoamericana de Viticultura, Agroindustria y Ruralidad, 2(5), p. 3. 41 The Law sets out in small detail its nationally enforceable protection system and states that the application for standardisation or amendment of the product specifications (cahier des charges) shall be submitted to the Industrial Property National Institute by a management and protection body, privately-owned and with legal personality. In March 2021, 17 applications were submitted, two of which were turned down, 12 were certified (“granite from Bretagne” and “siège from Liffol” – a wooden chair typical of that area) and the others are still being processed. Further information on the National Institute dealing with designations is available in: www.inpi.fr/fr/comprendre-la-propriete-intellectuelle/les-indications-geographiques (last accessed on 04 March 2021).
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTE4NzM5Nw==