THE PROTECTION OF GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS IN BRAZIL

Rodrigo Moerbeck Deputy General Coordinator for GIs and Registrations

Directorate of Business Contracts, GIs and Registrations

National Institute of Industrial Property – INPI Brazil

Brazil a leading agricultural producer

• third largest agricultural exporter in the world

• ranks number one in world production and exports of coffee, sugar, and frozen concentrate orange juice

• ranks number two in soybeans, tobacco, beef, and poultry

• major producer and exporter of corn, pork, cotton, cacao, bananas, and rice

What does Brazil export?

Source: The Observatory of economic complexity (2010)

Brazil a leading agricultural producer

• Used farmland: 50 million hectares

• Total potential arable land (FAO): 400 million hectares

• Brazil’s “agricultural miracle”: since 1996 Brazilian farmers have increased the amount of cultivated land by a third, mostly in the Cerrado. And it has increased production by ten times that amount

Brazil Strong potencial for GI protection

• One of the world’s greatest food producers

• Major exporter of agicultural products

• Cultural diversity

• Different ecosystems

• Typical gastronomy

35 GIs granted in Brazil

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

62 GIs applications 1997 – 2011

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

6

22

7

29

Granted GIs in Brazil

DISTRIBUTION AMONG

NATIONAL AND FOREIGN PRODUCTS

DISTRIBUTION AMONG

DOs AND Ips

(NATIONAL GIs)

Brazil has encouraged the protection of GIs

• Government initiatives aimed at GIs

• Partneship of Brazilian institutions and producers

• Policies aiming at the capacity of coordination

of the producers and the government

• Formation of supply chains and strategies for

the promotion and distribution of products

GI as a strategy of differentiation

• Large farms with a focus on exports

• GI adds value to products

• Ensures distinction and food safety aspects

• GI may increase the competitiveness in the }global market

GI as a strategy of differentiation

• Large farms with a focus on exports

• Adds value to products

• Ensures distinction and food safety aspects

• GI may increase the competitiveness in the }global market

GI as a strategy of differentiation

• Large farms with a focus on exports

• Adds value to products

• Ensures distinction and food safety aspects

• GI may increase the competitiveness in the }global market

GI as a mechanism to promote local development • Small production units

with low production scale and family farming

• SPUs play an essential role on the economy of small cities

• GI is a way to allow participation in the national and international markets

GI as a way to stimulate the social organization of particular groups • Traditional and typical

products are numerous

• Regional products

• Products of social groups (indigenous and settlers)

• Traditional knowledge and biodiversity preservation

GI protection issues in Brazil

• GI Protection is a recent phenomenon

• Institutionalization phase

• Recognition of the new territorialities

• Consensus among public and private actors

about the notion of GIs

• Organization and representation of producers

• Adequacy of legal instruments to the

Brazilian reality

Obtaining a GI in the INPI

Ste

p

Action

1 Organization of producers and creation of an association or legal

entity representative of the community

2 Retrieval of information proving the recognition of the region and

the product or service (in the case of IP) or identification and

systematization of information about the natural factors and the

traditional expertise of the geographical region of origin assuring

certain regional characteristics and/or qualities of the product or

service (in the case of DO

3 Defining the boundaries of the geographical area

4 Creating the representation of GI (nominative and/or graphic)

5 Drafting of the rules of use and control structure

6 Creation of a Regulatory Board

7 Preparation of request for registration of GI

8 Application and monitoring of the process in the INPI

Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply (MAPA) • Department of Intellectual Property and

Technology of the Agribusiness

• The Ministry is conducting a diagnostic to

identify the potential of GIs in Brazil

• The ministry also help associations of

producers to structure the supply chain and

support the preparation and filing of the

registration of GI in the INPI

Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA)

• It is a government entity linked to the MAPA. It is the

largest center for agricultural research in Latin America

• Mission: to enable solutions of research, development

and innovation for sustainable agriculture for the benefit

of Brazilian society

• EMBRAPA works in partnership with educational

organizations, INPI and associations representing

producers in order to build skills, internalize concepts,

identify potential products and regions, and make

possible the certifications of GIs

Brazilian Agency for Entrepreneurship and small businesses (SEBRAE) • It is a private entity in public interest that supports

the creation and expansion of micro/small businesses

• Its mission is focused on the development of Brazil

by generating employment and income through

entrepreneurship

• In relation of GIs, SEBRAE facilitates by creating

awareness about the protection of this intellectual

property asset and financing projects of Brazilian

producers to obtain and exploit the use of GIs

National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI)

• Mission: to create an intellectual property system that

encourages innovation, promotes competition and

contributes to the technological, economic and social

development of the country

• It is the office responsible for registration and grant

of industrial property rights in Brazil

• The Institute promotes partnerships and agreements

with national and international entities and institutions

to promote the use of industrial property

National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI)

• In Brazil, the INPI is the agency responsible for

examining the applications, granting the right of

protection and defining the conditions for

registration of GIs

• The protection of GIs in Brazil is in accordance with

the Paris Convention, the Madrid Agreement for the

Repression of False or Deceptive Indications of Source

on Goods and the TRIPS Agreement

National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI)

• To bring the national legislation in terms with TRIPS,

the Industrial Property Law (LPI, 1996) was enacted

• LPI regulates the rights and obligations relating to

industrial property, including protection of GIs in Brazil

• The LPI does not present the definition of GI but

establishes two types of protection characterized as GIs:

Indication of Source (IP) and Appellation of Origin (DO)

• GIs can also be used to certify service delivery,

not just products

Industrial Property Law GI protection aspects

• IP is the geographical name which has become known

as a centre of extraction, production or manufacture of

a specific product or specific service delivery

• DO refers to the geographical name which designates

a product or service whose qualities or characteristics

are exclusively or essentially related to the

geographical environment, including natural

and human factors

Industrial Property Law Requirements for obtaining the GI certificate

• Evidences of recognition or fame of a region

or identification of natural factors and traditional

expertise of the region of origin

• It is necessary that the producers organize themselves

through an association or legal entity representative

of the community

• Boundaries of the geographical area , a nominative

and/or graphic representation

• ‘Rules of use and control structure' must be elaborated

Rules of use and control structure

Into this documentation should be included information

about production conditions such as:

• Description of the goods, including raw materials and

the main physical, chemical, microbiological or

organoleptic characteristics (according to type)

• Elements that substantiate the geographical origin

• Description of the method of obtaining goods and

• Description of the method of control

ADEQUACY OF LEGAL INSTRUMENTS

CRAFTMANSHIP AND THE PRESERVATION OF TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE

PRESIDENCIAL DECREE 4062/2001

“CACHAÇA” as GI (not IP nor DO)

GEOGRAPHICAL NAME:

“BRASIL”

GI ACCORDING TO ART. 22 TRIPS:

“CACHAÇA”

PROCUCT:

FERMENTED SUGAR CANE JUICE LIQUOR

ADJECTIVES OF ORIGIN

• Brazilian law defines GIs as geographical names

• There are no provisions in the rules

• Scotch whisky

• Grana Padano cheese

PORTO DIGITAL RECIFE/PE APPLICATION FOR “IT SERVICES”

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