Re-schedule: geographical indication, definition, management, sustainability and consumers

Re-schedule: geographical indication, definition, management, sustainability and consumers

Patricia Covarrubia   November 10, 2021   No comments:

 Will you be there?

I just go news from the Agricultural Research for Development (CIRAD) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) about its international conference. I published the invitation a while ago but due to the pandemic, it did not take place....NOW IT WILL :)

by Kenny Stoltz

The conference is on the 12th to 15 th July, 2022 and the location...oh my!...Montpellier, France [I honestly do not know if I am excited because it is finally taking place or because of the location]. The conference will be in person (so we can raise a glass - or two :)) but will provide 'virtual' access for those that cannot travel due to health concerns.

So tell us, what is the most recent research you have been discussing with your peers in the GI world? Would you like to share this with us? The deadline is 1st Dec,2021.

What are we expecting, what topics?

Nature and legal definition, public and private management, impacts in the marketplace and outside the market, sustainable development including social dimensions and the protection of biodiversity and environment, relationships with other intellectual property rights, engagement with other formal and informal forms of norm-making, consumers’ welfare, competition policies, technical innovation and terroir effect, collective organization and collaboration, participation and empowerment of local actors: these are some of the topics that will feed the debates in this conference.

For more information click here (English) and here (Spanish) 

Read More

The future of Geographical Indications – we need you

The future of Geographical Indications – we need you

Patricia Covarrubia   November 09, 2020   No comments:

 

The website of the International Conference ‘Worldwide Perspectives on Geographical Indications’ has arrived. As far as the plan is (we cannot predict what Covid-19 restrictions will be in place), this would be held in beautiful Rome, Italy on 6-9 July 2021 at the FAO headquarters.

Geographical Indications are ‘signs’ used on products such as spirits (‘tequila’ in Mexico), wines (Vale dos Vinhedos’ in Brazil), food (‘Quinoa Real’ in Bolivia), handicraft (‘Montecristi’ in Ecuador) that have a specific geographical origin (the reason for its name/label).

Why do we need you?

The conference is an interdisciplinary affair and aims to listen to everyone in the area of agriculture and trade linked to GIs– we mean, EVERYONE. From public authorities to producers, policymakers to practitioners and stakeholders to academics, you name it, and we will have a space for you.

There is a call for contributions divided into FOUR categories: 1) Defining GIs, you can expect here the obvious origin deliberation but…yes, I like this part ‘GIs and innovation’ covering technology, and methods. I am quite interested in this as we understand that while one of the keys of a GI is linked to the know-how that has been used for decades or even centuries, we cannot expect for them to be kept like that due to climate change, deterioration of resources, etc., there needs to be some flexibility for innovation without deteriorating the GI as such; 2) Managing GIs – covering governance, control, certification mechanisms, enforcement and including marketing; 3) GIs and sustainability covering the heated debate ‘climate change’, this category seeks to evaluate GIs impact (be it economic, social, environmental; cultural, etc.); finally 4) GI and consumers, we all know that GIs without consumers is like having ‘fish’ without ‘chips’ (for my British readers), so this category aims to look at the impact that GI may have on diets and looking at different labels that are used to link a product to a locality.

We are looking for participants around the world and I am indeed looking for participants from developing countries (check fees and financial support). To submit your contribution and abstract of no more than 500 words is needed -- deadline is before 18 December 2020. The beauty is that contributions can be in Spanish (cough cough my Latin American friends), English or French (simultaneous translation will be available on the date).

For the full invitation check here. For the submission of contribution check here. When accessing the page, just tap (left-hand side corner) for the desired language.

 

Read More

Enredados is here! a newtwork for all IP and ICH issues

Enredados is here! a newtwork for all IP and ICH issues

Patricia Covarrubia   March 03, 2018   No comments:

Celebrating the formal launch of 'Enredados' I am proud to invite you to an event taken place in London, Wednesday 28 March, 2018 (book here, free of charge). The event has two sessions under the name 'Copyrighting, Tradition and the Flight of the Condor':

1.- A talk by Prof Valdimar Tr. Hafstein from the Department of Folklore, Ethnology, and Museum Studies, University of Iceland. He is the author of a number of articles and books on intangible heritage, cultural property, international heritage politics, folklore, and copyright in traditional knowledge. He is the former president of the International Society for Ethnology and Folklore (SIEF) and former chair of the Icelandic Commission for UNESCO.

2.- A preview of a film lead by Prof Valdimar.

This event will celebrate the formal launch of Enredados, an online network of policymakers, academics and practitioners in the fields of IP and ICH established to encourage debate on the following issues:
•the intersections between IP and ICH-related policy;
•the relationship between IP and ICH safeguarding; and
•how IP protection might be used as a tool for safeguarding ICH

Enredados coordinators and event organisers:
•Charlotte Waelde (Professor of Intellectual Property Law,
Coventry University)
•Harriet Deacon (Visiting Research Fellow at the Centre for Dance Research, Coventry University)
•Patricia Covarrubia (Senior Lecturer in Law at the University of Buckingham and IP consultant at Latin America IPR SMEs Helpdesk).

For more info in the network, happy to answer any questions via e-mail.

Read More

Food for thought

Food for thought

Patricia Covarrubia   December 11, 2017   No comments:

Last month we advertised a conference i.e. Heritage Across Borders. This was now extended to 31st of December, 2017.

Under the session Tangible and Intangible and under the title: 'Intellectual Property and the Protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage: Emerging Themes and Challenges in Transboundary and Diaspora Contexts' I submitted a proposal that may be of interest to you [and I definitely will need your help with this paper]. In this proposal I am linking Intangible Heritage, Intellectual Property and Latin America.

You perhaps have heard that back in 2009, UNESCO supported the project to safeguard the intangible cultural heritage of the ‘Aymara’ communities of Bolivia, Chile and Peru. This was to be a 5 year project and I have not heard much about how did it go i.e. has this improved Aymara’s TK?
The Decision of the Intergovernmental Committee 4.COM 15B here, aimed to identify and prepare a catalogue of the Aymara’s TK [excited to read this catalogue (anyone?)]; it also involved to promote and disseminate Aymara’s oral and musical expressions, and moreover to support TK on the production of textile arts.

Here you have then an idea of what a proposal looks like or at least starts as…just put your minds to work and hopefully I will see you in China.

Original post here.

Read More

Heritage Across Borders

Heritage Across Borders

Patricia Covarrubia   November 14, 2017   No comments:

The above conference has been advertised by the UK Society of Legal Scholars (SLS) as well as other forums.

I would like to further up upon this since I am co-ordinating three sub-sessions in this exciting Conference taking place in China. They are under the session Tangible and Intangible. The invitation is as follow:

Intellectual Property and the Protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage: Emerging Themes and Challenges in Transboundary and Diaspora Contexts
Since the Intangible Heritage Convention was adopted by UNESCO in 2003, intangible cultural heritage (ICH) and its parallel concepts such as traditional knowledge (TK) and traditional cultural expressions (TCEs) have been increasingly important subjects of debate in several other international forums, such as WIPO, CBD (including its Nagoya Protocol), WHO, and the WTO. As more countries implement the Convention, national policy-makers and communities of practice have been exploring the use of intellectual property (IP) protection to achieve ICH safeguarding outcomes (as well as other political and economic goals). For example, inscription of ways to make food and craft products on the Lists of the Convention is often associated with efforts to register geographical indications to protect use of the names of those products.

The intersection between ICH safeguarding and IP protection raises questions about the nature of ownership or stewardship over ICH, the appropriate nature of any kind of IP protection, and its likely effects. Many of these issues have been discussed in the context of the WIPO Intergovernmental Committee on Genetic Resources, TK and TCEs, but there has been relatively little debate about protecting IP rights in transboundary heritage, especially concerning safeguarding under the UNESCO Convention. Much ICH is shared (and contested) across national borders, and can easily be translated to and practised in new locations, which poses challenges for protecting IP rights, especially in the absence of widely-ratified international agreements.

This session will consider various strategies (legislative or otherwise) to establish and/or protect IP rights over ICH in transboundary and diaspora contexts, and how they might affect efforts to maintain practice and transmission (safeguarding) of that ICH. Session papers may present case studies of IP protection regarding transboundary ICH, and/or the role of measures such as provisions for mutual recognition and national treatment, IP chapters in international, regional or bilateral trade agreements, contractual agreements under the Nagoya Protocol, and ethical guidelines and dispute resolution mechanisms. Papers may include references to all forms of intellectual property, including patents, copyright, design rights, trademarks (certification marks and collective marks), geographical indications, and sui generis rights.

The session will involve a triple session (two speaker sessions and one panel session). The speaker’s session will consist of 4 people each, and the panel session (single session) will consist of 8 speakers with a special focus on food heritage and IP protection.

Deadline for submissions: Thursday 30 November 2017

Let me know if you need more information. You can communicate to me informally about any project you feel will be suitable to the conference (or anything else – IP related of course :0).

More information here.

Read More

Politics and IP. Regulation and IP. Just Two of the Topics Up for Discussion in Cartagena This October!

Politics and IP. Regulation and IP. Just Two of the Topics Up for Discussion in Cartagena This October!

Patricia Covarrubia   August 30, 2017   No comments:

Highlighted recently here on IP Tango, the International Trademark Association (INTA) will be hosting its Changing Landscape of Latin America conference in Cartagena, Colombia, on October 2–3.

Serving on the conference project team, Iris Quadrio (Marval, O’Farrell & Mairal, Argentina) and Urko Ochoa (Minino, Dominican Republic) contributed to the educational program and will be moderating a number of the sessions during the conference. The conference will be presented in English.

Moderated by Ms. Quadrio, a session titled “Politics and IP – Navigating This Unlikely Pair,” will feature Luiz Henrique O. do Amaral (Dannemann Siemsen, Brazil) and Prof. Dr. Gustavo Juan Schötz (National Director of Copyright, Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, Argentina). This session ties in closely with the theme of the conference, as it touches upon the changes that are reshaping the political landscape across Latin America, with Brazil transitioning towards presidential elections in 2018 after a particularly difficult period, and Argentina and Peru signaling important developments after their respective new administrations took office.

Speakers will delve into the changing political and economic landscape and its impact on issues such as the negotiation of agreements as they relate to intellectual property (IP) and trademarks, including the relaunch of Mercosur/EU trade talks. This discussion will also cover the role of the new trademark and IP authorities in Latin America, with their own list of priorities and reform projects, bringing participants up to date on the most recent changes and developments in the region.

Mr. Ochoa will lead a panel of experts comprising Melissa Pérez de Patterson (Procter & Gamble, Panama), Sergio Barragán (Pepsico, Mexico), and Rodrigo Velasco (Alessandri Abogados, Chile) in a session concerning the balance between IP rights and the increasing regulatory landscape. They will discuss a numbers of issues raised as a consequence of the new regulatory regimes which are expanding in the region, the corresponding restrictions for IP rights, and how IP owners and practitioners are facing the new challenges. Participants should expect to receive a clear regional overview of the matter, as well as the conflicts arising from the overlap between IP and regulatory provisions (such as packaging claims, use of characters, and other restrictions), and expectations for future developments.

Following the conference, on October 4, INTA will host a workshop, Free Trade Zones: Commerce vs. Counterfeits, during which brand owners, free trade zone authorities, government officials, and other stakeholders will explore the ongoing threat of counterfeiting in free trade zones.

Register here to join INTA in Cartagena this October.

Post written by INTA. 

Read More