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#DahlonegaPlateau #AVAs #Wine #Georgia #USA: a new American Viticultural Area established at the federal level
On 30 June, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) designated “Dahlonega Plateau” as American Viticultural Area (AVA). The area is situated in northern Georgia. The petition had been submitted by the “Dahlonega–Lumpkin Chamber & Visitors Bureau” on behalf of the local vineyard owners and vintners.
An AVA is a delimited grape-growing region having distinguishing features as described in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) as well as a name and delineated boundary. AVAs allow vintners and consumers to attribute a given quality, reputation, or other characteristic of a wine made from grapes grown in an area to its geographic origin. As a result, winemakers can more accurately describe the origin of their wines, and consumers more easily identify wines for purchase. Currently, there are 242 established AVAs in the United States. More information is available @ https://ttb.gov/press/press-release-fy-18-07-ttb-establishes-dahlonega-plateau-viticultural-area.shtml
The AVA is one of the several systems available in the USA to recognize distinctive products’ names which might qualify as GIs. The American Origin Products Association (AOPA) – a member of oriGIn which works in the USA to establish a stronger economy for distinctive product names closely tied to their regions – has identified at least 5 of them (in some cases they might overlap, as a product’s name might benefit from more than one system): AVAs (for wines), trademarks – including certification and collective marks (for all kind of products), political appellations (for wines), labelling rules (for distilled spirits) and marketing orders (for fruits, vegetables and crops). Please find more information about AOPA activities and objectives @ http://www.aop-us.org/
#India #Logo: New logo now available for Indian GIs
On August 1, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry of India launched a national Geographical Indications (GIs) logo, which is now available for all Indian recognized product’s names. This initiative is part of a policy to increase Intellectual Property rights (IPRs) awareness in the country as well as to help GIs to carry out promotional activities.
Among the countries which have already a GIs logo, there are: Cambodia, Colombia, Morocco, China, Turkey, Switzerland, the EU, Jamaica, Japan, Thailand, etc.
#WIPO #EU #GenevaAct: EC recommends the EU to join the Geneva Act
On 27 July 2018, the European Commission (EC) recommended the EU to join the Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement on Appellations of Origin and Geographical Indications.
The Lisbon Agreement for the Protection of Appellations of Origin and their International Registration, which currently counts 28 Member States, was modernized in May 2015, at the Geneva Diplomatic Conference organized by WIPO. The Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement, includes GIs under its scope of application. As a result, the system now provides a solid level of protection for all products’ names with unique characteristics linked to their geographical environment. It also allows intergovernmental organizations (such as the OAPI and the EU) to join the Agreement.
The EC initiative lays solid foundations for the establishment of a truly international GIs registry. In this respect, to encourage other countries to join (Cambodia had already done it earlier this year), oriGIn will renew its efforts to promote a better understanding of, as well as a large accession, to the Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement (please visit our “Policy and Advocacy” page devoted to oriGIn activities carried out at the WIPO level).
