The Brazilian Instituto Nacional da Propriedade Industriale (INPI) has decided to grant Geographical Indication for a variation of the coffee produced in the Region of Mantiqueira, however, it informed that there is still some administration procedure that needs to be fulfilled. This information was published on May 10, 2011 in the Journal of Industrial Property (RPI), which indicates that from this date onwards the Association of Coffee Producing Mantiqueira has 60 days to prove, at the INPI, the payment of the fee. Fulfilled this, INPI will award the registration certificate.
This will be the ninth GI granted to national products in Brazil. There are three more pending: Manguezais de Alagoas for propolis; Jalapão for golden grass; and Vale dos Vinhedos for wines. The later already hold a GI but just a certification of ‘Indications of Source’, the pending application was for a ‘Denomination of Origin’.
Basically, the Geographical Indication is a certification that guarantees the suitability of the product and its quality. According to INPI, GI becomes a competitive advantage to its holders and gives as an example the case of ‘Valley of the Vineyards’, which owns a GI since 2002, and had a big boost in tourism (which grew over 300% during this period) and local production (the number of wineries has grown from 15 to 31).
