GI status for cuckoo clocks?
On January 19, 2015 a commission conference in Brussels discussed the public consultation based on the Green Paper. The conference documents detailing those discussions, on aspects such as the overlap of GIs with trademarks, have not yet been published.
This article considers whether it could be useful to extend the stretch of existing European GI protection beyond foodstuffs, wines and spirits to a broader range of non-food and drink products.
In supporting the extension of GI protection to non-food and drink products, the commission seeks to assist regional small-scale producers and artisans in Europe. The commission cites the protection of highly skilled industries, jobs and quality products that range from Italian Botticino marble to German cuckoo clocks.
After reading the commission’s Green Paper, the EU’s stance is clear: GIs protect European producers from an ever-increasing number of infringements. The widening of the type of product entitled to GI protection would increase the possibility of protecting those right holders and—in the commission’s view—the collective good of producers and consumers at large.
GI and trademark disputes are currently resolved in national courts, through Community trademark administrative boards and ultimately in the higher European courts. There has been a steady stream of Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) litigation involving not just multi-lateral parties and jurisdictions, but different governments. These include Italy and Germany, in a case about Parmesan cheese (in C-213/05), and Greece, Denmark and Germany in a case relating to Feta cheese (C-293/96).
New markets
A detailed European Commission study (328 pages), published in February 2013, notes that a further 834 non-food and drink products could be protected by GI. This could create protectionist claims from non-European competitors, resulting in a possible unfair distortion of market parity. Non-food and drink products would include items such as glass from Venice, leather from Florence, ceramics from the Emilia Romagna region, and building materials such as limestone from certain areas of Bulgaria.
According to the study, these products and their related industries would benefit from being able to apply a GI stamp of quality on their product, provided they continue to adhere to product specifications. Wines have been protected since the 1970s, spirits since 1989 and foodstuffs since 1992. There are also GI labelling requirements that can enhance a product’s value.
The GI market is already worth €54 billion (according to the Green Paper) because—it seems—consumers are attracted by quality products that have a seal of approval. Meanwhile, European legislators are seeking to use this intellectual property tool to broaden this effect. Once registered, a GI does not need renewing and is a collective right for the relevant consortium of GI producers, whether they are making French lace or selling therapeutic mud from the Estonian town of Haapsalu.
Clearly, however, legislators will need to be wary of this somewhat unwieldy IP legal animal since it grants a perpetual right to its consortium or association members (as long as quality standards are maintained), unlike a trademark right, which must be renewed every ten years.
With GI protection, the risk of creating anti-competitive monopolies in certain product sectors is considerably higher. This will need to be borne in mind by legislators in order not to disrupt the market balance for other commercial players.
Julia Holden is partner at Trevisan & Cuonzo. She can be contacted at: jholden@trevisancuonzo.com
