A Preliminary Database of Worldwide Geographic Indications (not
including wines and most spirits)
We have compiled a preliminary list of potential GI products from around the world. The
database focuses on products largely that are not spirits or wines, although some spirits
are included. Of the 800 cases we include over 600 alone come from countries in the
European Union. This reflects the types of recognition accorded these products rather
than the number of potential GIs in other countries. Therefore, we include products that
because of their name or association with a geographic name would provide the
possibility for recognition as a GI. Given time to develop systems of such recognitions
would eventually become a small part of the total, if only based on the number of people
and geography compared to the rest of the world.
A separate database has been created earlier for the EU countries. This report then
focuses on some of the attributes for the Rest of the World (ROW).
This information is available on the GIANT web site.
The following fields are reported for each entry.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
An ID number
Product Name (i.e., Finnish Potato)
Country
Product Type (i.e., Vegetable)
Product Sub-Type (i.e., Tubers)
Product (i.e., Potato)
GI Type (PDO ort PGI)
Multi-country Protections (i.e., European Union)
Coded Multi-Country Protections (Sub-Country, Country, Regional, Multilateral)
Global Region (i.e., Western Europe)
Country Region (i.e., Idaho for Potatoes)
Administering Group
Existence of GIANT Case Study
The main data source is official EU listings of protected GI products (622). Another
source was the U.S. Patent and Trademark’s Office (US PTO) online trademark database
(TESS). (See Appendix A on aspects of and remarks on the TESS system.) From TESS
we looked only at Trademarks and within them we sought out “Certified Marks”.
Among them we selected out those that pertained to a physical geographic locale that was
part of the certification. “Other sources were multi-faceted with research conducted on a
country basis. The case studies on the GIANT web site are also included.
A.
Distribution of GIs by country
Table 1 shows country breakdowns for the unified data base. European countries that
dominate the EU GI cases, dominate here as well: France (136 of 16.7 percent of EU
total), Italy (127), Portugal (82), Greece (81), Spain (75), and Germany (63).
Table1: Distribution of GIs by country
Country
Angola
Argentina
Australia
Austria
Belgium
Benin
Botswana
Brazil
Bulgaria
Burkina Faso
Cameroon
Canada
China
Cuba
Czech
Denmark
Egypt
Ethiopia
Finland
France
Germany
Ghana
Granada
Greece
Guatemala
India
Iran
Ireland
Italy
Jamaica
Japan
Kenya
Korea
Liberia
Frequency
Percent
1
3
2
12
4
2
1
2
2
1
3
4
12
2
2
3
1
14
1
136
63
3
1
81
1
17
2
3
127
1
6
2
3
1
0.12
0.37
0.25
1.48
0.49
0.25
0.12
0.25
0.25
0.12
0.37
0.49
1.48
0.25
0.25
0.37
0.12
1.72
0.12
16.73
7.75
0.37
0.12
9.96
0.12
2.09
0.25
0.37
15.62
0.12
0.74
0.25
0.37
0.12
Country
Luxembourg
Madasgascar
Mexico
Morocco
Netherlands
New Zealand
Nigeria
Panama
Peru
Poland
Portugal
Slovak
Sloval
Somalia
South Africa
Spain
Sri Lanka
Sweden
Switzerland
Taiwan
Tanzania
Thailand
Togo
Trinidad
Turkey
UK
USA
Uganda
Vietnam
Total
Frequency
Percent
4
1
9
4
5
2
3
1
3
1
82
1
1
3
6
75
1
2
2
3
1
1
9
1
1
27
40
3
2
0.49
0.12
1.11
0.49
0.62
0.25
0.37
0.12
0.37
0.12
10.09
0.12
0.12
0.37
0.74
9.23
0.12
0.25
0.25
0.37
0.12
0.12
1.11
0.12
0.12
3.32
4.92
0.37
0.25
813
100
B.
Table 2: Distribution of GI by country without EU countries
These breakdowns in Table 2 show the dataset percentages minus the EU. However, the
US has at least 40 cases (22 percent of the non-EU) , India 17, Ethiopia 14, Mexico and
Togo 9, and Japan and South Africa 6.
Table 2: Distribution of GI by country without EU countries
Country
Angola
Argentina
Australia
Benin
Botswana
Brazil
Bulgaria
Burkina Faso
Cameroon
Canada
Chichuahua
China
Cuba
Czech
Egypt
Ethiopia
Ghana
Granada
Guatemala
India
Iran
Italy
Jamaica
Japan
Kenya
Korea
Frequency
Percent
1
3
2
2
1
2
1
1
3
2
1
12
2
2
1
14
3
1
1
16
2
1
1
5
2
3
0.52%
1.57%
1.05%
1.05%
0.52%
1.05%
0.52%
0.52%
1.57%
1.05%
0.52%
6.28%
1.05%
1.05%
0.52%
7.33%
1.57%
0.52%
0.52%
8.38%
1.05%
0.52%
0.52%
2.62%
1.05%
1.57%
Country
Liberia
Madasgascar
Mexico
Morocco
NAFTA
New Zealand
Nigeria
Panama
Peru
Poland
Slovak
Sloval
Somalia
South Africa
Spain
Switzerland
Taiwan
Thailand
Togo
Trinidad
Turkey
UK
USA
Uganda
Vietnam
Total
Frequency
Percent
1
1
6
4
5
2
3
2
6
2
1
1
3
6
1
1
1
1
9
1
1
1
42
3
2
191
0.52%
0.52%
3.14%
2.09%
2.62%
1.05%
1.57%
1.05%
3.14%
1.05%
0.52%
0.52%
1.57%
3.14%
0.52%
0.52%
0.52%
0.52%
4.71%
0.52%
0.52%
0.52%
21.99%
1.57%
1.05%
100
C.
Distribution of GIs by region
The dominance of the EU countries reflects the global distribution of cases, shown in
Table 3. Southern Europe holds 45 percent of the data base and Western Europe 32
percent. However, the next largest are Eastern Asia (3.81 percent), Western North
America (3.57 percent), and Eastern Africa (2.95 percent).
Table 3: Distribution of GIs by region
Region
Australasia
East Africa
Eastern Africa
Eastern Asia
Eastern Europe
Eastern North America
Eastern South America
Great Lakes Region
Middle East Africa
Middle East Asia
Northern Europe
Northern North America
Frequency
4
1
24
31
6
12
2
1
5
4
1
3
Percent
0.49
0.12
2.95
3.81
0.74
1.48
0.25
0.12
0.62
0.49
0.12
0.37
Region
South Africa
South Asia
Southern Africa
Southern Asia
Southern Europe
Southern North America
Southern South America
Western Africa
Western Europe
Western North America
Total
Frequency
1
11
7
6
366
16
7
18
259
29
Percent
0.12
1.35
0.86
0.74
45.02
1.96
0.86
2.21
31.86
3.57
813
100
D.
Distribution of GIs by Product Type
Table 4 shows the distribution of GIs by product type. Dairy and Meat, those proposed
for new WTO protections are the two largest categories at 20.79 percent and 20.17
percent, respectively, or over 40 percent of total cases. The two are obviously related
industries under the general category of animal husbandry. The next largest category is
oils and fats (9.84 percent), the latter of which are also a product of animal husbandry
operations. Olives, related to the oils in most case, adds another 2.09 percent.
Vegetables follow at 9.72 percent. Some categories not clearly protected in the EU
appear: national “dishes” and “manufactured” products with a geographic link.
Table 4: Distribution of GIs by Product Type
Product Type
Baked goods
Beverage
Condiment
Dairy
Dish
Fruit
Grain
Manufacture
Meat
Nut
E.
Frequency
24
34
30
169
7
61
14
17
164
11
Percent
2.95
4.18
3.69
20.79
0.86
7.5
1.72
2.09
20.17
1.36
Product Type
Oils & Fats
Olives
Other
Other drinks
Plant
Seafood
Sweets
Vegetable
Wine/Spirit
Total
Frequency
80
17
3
38
9
14
19
79
23
813
Percent
9.84
2.09
0.37
4.67
1.11
1.72
2.34
9.72
2.93
100
Distribution of GIs by Type of GI
GIs can be broken down by their type of protection; whether it is more linked to place or
to process that occurs in that place (PGI versus PDO). PGI or process protections
constitute 63.59 of the total. Non-EU countries are more heavily oriented towards PGI
protections. This is especially true of ancient civilizations such as India. India has GI
protection for types of textile products, like the saree, for example (see Table 5).
Table 5: Distribution of GIs by Type of GI
GI Type
Frequency
Percent
PDO
PGI
517
296
63.59
36.41
Total
813
100
F.
Breakdown of GI Type by Region
GI types do have differing attributes according to their region or country or orientation.
PGI types are dominant areas that have limited numbers of total GI, including the Middle
East Africa, Southern Africa, and Western Africa. The ratios are most pronounced in
Western North America (8.7 to 1 ratio). Southern Europe has a ratio almost twice as
large as the next largest region -- Western Europe (2.1 to 1.2 percent)
Table 6: Breakdown of GI Type by Region
Region
Australasia
East Africa
Eastern Africa
Eastern Asia
Eastern Europe
Eastern North America
Eastern South America
Middle East Africa
Middle East Asia
Northern Europe
Northern North America
Southern Africa
Southern Asia
Southern Europe
Southern North America
Southern South America
Western Africa
Western Europe
Western North America
Total
GI Type
PDO
PGI
4
0
1
0
19
7
20
11
5
1
7
5
2
0
2
3
3
1
1
0
3
0
3
6
14
3
249
117
10
5
6
1
5
13
139
120
26
3
517
296
PDO to PGI
Ratio
na
na
2.7
1.8
5.0
1.4
na
0.7
3.0
na
na
0.5
4.7
2.1
2.0
6.0
0.4
1.2
8.7
1.7
Total
4
1
26
31
6
12
2
5
4
1
3
7
17
366
15
7
18
259
29
813
Appendix A
The World According to TESS: A Quick Survey of Geographic
Indication Protections in the US Trademark System
TESS is the US PTO Trademark Electronic Search System. It is not a comprehensive
source of all U.S. trademarks but ones that are within the federal system of trademark
protections. It is useful to examine the types of geographic indicators there and the types
of information available regarding claims that are in part related to geographic locale and
specific areas of the United States and other countries.
There are, as of November 27, 2004, 1,681,292 “live” trademarks and 2,161,865 “Dead”
ones.
Geographic indications generally fall within trademarks rather than patents. In truth,
there are some growing areas of cross-over as legal systems evolve but this is a topic for
another paper.
The TESS database however includes all trademarks and there are often lines of
confusion about the extent to which some design claims and some geographic claims may
differ or overlap, especially those without specific disclaimers that clearly denote only
the symbol and not the underlying product.
Some Observations
1.
A search of “Feta” showed two filings. One was filed in 1991 from a company in
France and abandoned in 19992 and another a filing from the Government of Greece in
1992 which expired and was declared abandoned in 1993. No doubt these acts are
related.
2.
Many trademarks are dead so the focus is only on “live” ones. “Bulgara-Feta”
translated as “Bulgaria slice” was filed on November 2003 and the owner is the Vintage
Food Corporation of New York.
3.
There are many Parmesan registered but all are quite specific to a particular brand
name that is not generic in nature. Some names are in fact several sentences long.
4.
The Cuervo Company of Jalisco Mexico includes a variety of other good besides
tequila, including glassware, tote-bags and t-shirts. The trademark is the “EL
ORIGINAL LICOR DE TEQUILA” translated as "The original tequila liqueur". There is
also a trademark for “California Tequila”
5.
There are two registrants that are live for Darjeeling tea, one for 100 percent by
content and the other 60 percent. The registrant is the Tea Board of India. Darjeeling is
also a trademark for an “online retail store services featuring women’s underclothing and
lingerie.” The company is French based.
6.
Ceylon Tea is protected through the Sea Lanka Tea Board who has a separate
trademark on the logo. The product is described as “The Certification mark, as used by
authorized persons, certifies that goods identified by the mark are grown in Sri Lanka
(formerly known as Ceylon) and that the goods conform to quality, grade and other
requirements, pursuant to standards designated by the Applicant.”
7.
Vidalia is protected as a Certification Mark and the registrant is the Georgia
Department of Agriculture.
8.
California Grown Spirulina (a blue green algae that is used as a dietary
supplement) is included without disclaimer.
9.
There is California Blue Diamond Almond the Baseball Nut” with extensive
disclaimers. There are also “football” and “racing” versions as well.
10.
California Gold are certain grain seeds (wheat, barley, etc.) from Minnesota with
disclaimer. They are not the ore that had great social significance in the mid 19th century.
11.
California Trout protects the water not the fish.
12.
The US protects Bulgarian Feta.
13.
A cooperative of producers from Idaho and Eastern Oregon together hold a
trademark on the name “Spanish Onion”, though they are far from Spain. Red River
Potato Producers includes areas of both Minnesota and South Dakota. There are also
Washington potato producers, but these are probably related bio-climatic areas.
14.
The US PTO system certifies Kobe and Wagyu beef, presumably from Japan.
They are also raised in the US under strict supervision during their early life.
.