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Rangnekar, Dwijen --- "Indications of Geographical Origin in Asia: Legal and Policy Issues to Resolve" [2009] ELECD 589; in Meléndez-Ortiz, Ricardo; Roffe, Pedro (eds), "Intellectual Property and Sustainable Development" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2009)

Book Title: Intellectual Property and Sustainable Development

Editor(s): Meléndez-Ortiz, Ricardo; Roffe, Pedro

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781848446458

Section: Chapter 11

Section Title: Indications of Geographical Origin in Asia: Legal and Policy Issues to Resolve

Author(s): Rangnekar, Dwijen

Number of pages: 28

Extract:

11. Indications of geographical origin in Asia:
legal and policy issues to resolve
Dwijen Rangnekar1

INTRODUCTION

Geographical indications (GIs) are increasingly being seen as useful intellectual property
rights for developing countries. This is because of their potential to localize economic
control, promote rural socio-economic development and enable economic returns to
holders of traditional knowledge. Some of these factors lie at the heart of the demand
for stronger protection for products other than wines and spirits in the TRIPS Council
(Rangnekar, 2003). Actualizing this latent potential within GIs, however, requires the
development of complementary institutions and cooperation of all interested parties
throughout the product's supply chain; although there appears to be no singular and
common pattern among successful GI products (Rangnekar, 2004).
Unlike some provisions in the TRIPS Agreement, such as those concerning product
patents in certain technology areas (for example, pharmaceuticals and agricultural
chemicals under Article 65.4), the provisions for GIs do not allow for delayed imple-
mentation.2 The obligation under Section 3 (Part II) is non-specific, in that Articles 22
and 233 require the provision of `legal means' for the protection of GIs to be available
for `interested parties'.4 To be clear, the Agreement neither specifies the preferred legal
means nor does it identify the range of legal options. Commentators suggest that this
reflects the diverse range of legal means for the protection of indications of geographical
origins (IGOs) existing at the time of the Uruguay Round negotiations (Knaak, 1996;
Gervais, 1998; Watal, ...