The European Registry for Internet Domains (EURid) is the not-for-profit organization that manages the “.eu” and “.ею” (Cyrillic script) domains. EURid works with over 750 accredited registrars. Thanks to the collaboration between EURid and the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO),…
In April, the Swiss Parliament approved the agreement between Georgia and Switzerland on the recognition and mutual protection of GIs. The text is now published (for the time being available only in French, German and Italian) for optional referendum. Provided no optional…
Next November, the Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia (FNC), the group in charge of the GI “café de Colombia”, will receive the Inter-American Dialogue Distinguished Leadership Award for Social Equity. The FNC has been selected because, over the years,…
At the end of April, the appellation Champagne was recognized in Laos and in Cambodia. Champagne is the first foreign appellation to obtain GI status in both countries. In 2018, Champagne sales to Asia represent 20% of the overall product’s…
On May 2, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) published the Judgment in Case C-614/17, opposing the “Fundación Consejo Regulador de la Denominación de Origen Protegida Queso Manchego” (the group in charge of the PDO Queso Manchego)…
On 3 April the Cambodian GI “Skor Thnot Kampong Speu” – sugar made from sap of a palm tree collected and processed in three districts in the centre of Cambodia – was recognised in the EU. There are currently 32…
The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) has recently published a “Comparative Case Study on Alternative Resolution Systems for Domain Name Disputes”. It compares the procedures, fees, timelines and case statistics of all generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs) – the…
Following the Singapore GIs Act of 2014 and its implementation rules the national Registry of Geographical Indications will begin accepting applications for registration from 1st April 2019. Submissions will have to be made in hard copy and the official fee is…
On 14 March, the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission reached an agreement allowing the EU to join the WIPO Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement on Appellations of Origin and Geographical Indications. The modalities for the EU accession…
On 10 April 2019, a “Roving Seminar on WIPO Services and Initiatives” will take place in Treviso (Italy). The seminar, jointly organized by the World Intellectual property Organization (WIPO) and the Directorate-General for the Fight against Counterfeiting of the Italian…
On 13 February, the European Parliament adopted the EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (EUSFTA). The European Council will have to approve the agreement as well for it to enter into force. Check here the list of the EU GIs that will be…
On February 8, Albania acceded to the Lisbon Agreement for the Protection of Appellations of Origin and their International Registration. This brings the number of States party to this treaty administered by the WIPO to 29. The Lisbon Agreement will…
On 12 February, Tequila was recognized as a Geographical Indication in Brazil by the “Instituto Nacional da Propriedade Industrial” (INPI). We would like to congratulate the “Consejo Regulador del Tequila” (CRT) for this important achievement, which follows its application for…
In this first part of 2019, oriGIn confirms its role as leading opinion maker in the field of GIs. oriGIn and oriGIn Portugal are part of the training team of the EU-sponsored program “Better Training for Safer Food”, aimed at…
Since 2015, oriGIn has been dealing with the topic of sustainability, looking at its economic, environmental and social components. With a growing world population, and its implications in terms of quantity and quality of available food, use of water and…
Following the 2018 consultation on UK GIs schemes after Brexit, the Government published a summary of the 92 responses received (including the one of oriGIn) and its response. Meanwhile, as the withdrawal agreement negotiated at the end of 2018 was rejected…
At the end of January, the US and the UK signed two agreements covering wine and distilled spirits, to ensure there is no disruption in trade of these products between the two countries when the UK leaves the EU. The…
Over the years, GIs have gained commercial and economic relevance around the world, benefiting both producers and consumers. GIs have proven to be a value-added marketing differentiator as well as an indicator of geographical origin and quality. Although the vast…
The 2019 calls for proposals concerning promotional programmes under Regulation 1144/2014/EU were published on 15 January. Here are the links: Simple programmes Multi programmes The deadline for submitting proposals is 16 April 2019. The EU 2019 promotion programme, adopted by…
In 2018, the European Commission (EC) tabled a proposal for the EU accession to the Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement on Appellations of Origin and Geographical Indications. It is currently discussed by the Member States and the European Parliament (Committee…
