Champagne, Feta, and Bourbon : the Spirited Debate About Geographical Indications

Champagne, Feta, and Bourbon : the Spirited Debate About Geographical Indications

Journal article

88 pages

This paper first described the present state of international protection of geographical indications (GIs) such as Bourbon, Roquefort, and Bordeaux. Legal protection for GIs mandated in the TRIPS Agreement is implemented through appellations law in France and through certification mark systems in the United States and Canada. The paper then turns to the continuing debate between the European Union (EU) and other industrialized economies over this unusual form of intellectual property. The EU claims that increased GI protection would help developing countries, but, in fact, the increased protection proposed would principally secure larger monopoly rents to European farmers. Among other things, the EU wants the return of 41 words - like parmesan, mozzarella, champagne, and chablis.

Published in : Hastings Law Journal, vol. 58, p. 299, 2006

[San Francisco, California] : [University of California], 2006.

eng