Certification Trademark Research Articles

Towards a Fairer and More Equitable Bushfoods Industry: access and benefit-sharing and certification frameworks

ABSTRACT Australia’s bushfoods, botanicals and traditional medicines sector are a growing industry based on thousands of years of Indigenous Knowledge (IK). National and international growth in this industry does not provide satisfactory or equitable sharing of benefits, preventing opportunities and funding for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Without prior informed consent (PIC) and access and benefit sharing (ABS) arrangements, alongside specific point of difference certification and labelling schemes, current industry inequities will continue. International protocols such as the Nagoya Protocol require ABS arrangements, and we argue whether a certification trademark (CTM) scheme could also support ABS in Australia. ABS lays the groundwork to ethically share IK to mitigate harms and provide benefits to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Establishing coherent CTM and labelling schemes will complement and could work towards addressing the gaps and limitations in Australian ABS laws. CTM and labelling systems, as well as strategies and statements used by established alliances and organisations, provide insight into what mechanisms current ABS laws allow for. We use these examples to recommend the next steps.

Propuestas de manejo de Propiedad Intelectual para los retos del sector vitivinícola en sostenibilidad y para enfrentar el cambio climático

This research studies the functioning of three categories of intellectual property that have the potential of helping out the vitivinicultural sector to face the sustainability and climate change challenges without losing their distinctiveness and reputation in the market. Specifically, we review the geographical indications, denominations of origin and certificate trademarks. These intellectual categories refer to the prestige of products, in regard to their origin. But their scope and functioning are different. We study the advantages and obstacles that the denominations of origin face in Mexico in other productive sectors. We contrast these elements with those of geographical indication and certification trademarks, to assess which of these categories involve a more appropriate operation to distinguish wine products that comply with the OIV sustainability principles. Our contribution portrays two proposals based on the national and international legal context of Mexico. For instance, the more recent Treaty between Mexico, United States and Canada, for the first time in the region, recognizes certification trademarks (article 20.18) and indications of origin (article 20.29). It should be noted that, even though the geographical indication is a category that already exists among the wine sector in other OIV member countries, GIs and certification trademarks were recently recognized within the national legislation in Mexico in 2018. Hence, these categories of intellectual property are not yet in use in the national wine sector that is on the rise in the country. Therefore, it is relevant to evaluate which of them may contribute facing the mentioned challenges; the proposals of this research are: Firstly, the possibility of establishing a certification trademark for those products that comply with the principles of sustainability is analyzed. For this purpose, it is important that the rules of operation of the certification trademark have flexible conditions that can be easily updated to the social and climatic context that may occur in each harvest. The second proposal reviews the possibility of establishing a cross-border geographical indication, to distinguish wine products from California in USA and Baja California, Mexico. If the conditions of the legal framework are feasible for such GI, the producers in this territory may collaborate to deal with their different needs, having a distinctive sign in common, with which the consumer can identify this production area. Each of the proposals generate different alternatives that intent to give the necessary flexibilities the vitivinicultur sector need to accommodate the climate change conditions of each harvest, but preserving the umbrella distinctiveness for small-scale producers in the market. This research will develop its hypothesis through the study of the intellectual property international framework that applies for Mexico, together with the literature that has been developed regarding the indications of origin in the vitivinicultural sector.

Trademarks and Territorial Marketing: Retrospective and Prospective Analyses of the trademark Prodotti di Qualità

Trademarks are useful territorial marketing policies contributing to the economic growth of a certain region. However, the complexity of these strategies from a marketing and legal perspective requires a deeper understanding of the functioning of trademarks. We investigate these dynamics for the trademark "Prodotti di Qualità" (PQ), a territorial marketing initiative of Apulia Region (Italy) aiming at enhancing agri-food products with regulated high-quality standards, raising awareness among consumers and promoting marketing and sales of such products. We adopt a multidisciplinary approach to conduct a prospective analysis of marketing issues and a perspective analysis on legal issues. We conclude that, in face of some benefits for users in terms of reduced asymmetric information between consumers and producers, a stronger communication and promotion campaign would increase consumers' awareness and producers' confidence, also contributing to avoid the overlap of the PQ trademarks with other legal forms of labelling, such as geographical indications and certification trademarks. Policy interventions in this direction would be beneficial for the future development of the Apulian territorial marketing.

From cultural symbols to commercial marks: a quantitative analysis of the trademark law protection of intangible cultural heritage in China

The issue of trademark law protection of intangible cultural heritage (ICH) is inevitably encountered in the conversion from cultural symbols to commercial marks. Although academic circles are still discussing this, the practice has already begun. This paper investigates the status of the trademark law protection of ICH in China from the perspective of the application and registration data of ICH trademarks. According to a quantitative analysis of 12 123 items of ICH trademark searching data in China, it can be seen that the trademark protection of ICH is not optimistic, the trademark use of ICH symbols is in a disordered state, and many ICH trademark applications may cause distortion, derogation, or dilution to the connotation of the ICH. As a result, excluding trademark squatting by outsiders and decentralized registrations by indigenous peoples, and orderly utilizing of ICH symbols under a collective trademark or a certification trademark, should be determined as the basic goal of trademark law protection of ICH. To achieve this goal, the solution of ‘exclusion plus unified utilization’ should be adopted in practice. According to this plan, indigenous peoples, the trademark office, courts, and the Center of ICH Protection need to collaborate and improve the trademark law protection of ICH through awareness-raising, actions, institutions, and information.

Certification marks for Australian native foods: A proposal for Indigenous ownership of intellectual property

Recently, interest in ‘bush tucker’ foods has surged. Indigenous Australians should be empowered to determine how their knowledge is used when these products are commercialised. To exercise control over the development of the native foods industry, Indigenous Australians could establish a certification regime to ensure that their knowledge is appropriately converted into commercial products. This could be done through the strategic use of intellectual property, specifically through certification trade marks. Creating a certification mark for native foods could represent an important part of a decolonial policy agenda aimed at reimagining the regulation of native biodiversity and cultural knowledge in Australia.

Hijacking Consumer Trust Systems: Of Self-Declared Watchdogs and Certification Trade Marks

Hijacking Consumer Trust Systems: Of Self-Declared Watchdogs and Certification Trade Marks

Geographical indications in development contexts: Function, supply chain and pursuit of rural industrial development

AbstractThis study assesses the dynamics of different Geographical Indication (GI) systems as we seek to showcase how different rural communities capitalised on GI as a tool to secure their heritage/place‐based product reputations. The cases of Lugu Dong Ding Oolong Tea of Taiwan and Gobi Desert Camel Wool of Mongolia are used to provide important contexts of development—and in turn, enable us to undertake a comparative exercise to reveal the differences in terms of pre‐condition settings, impacts and pursuit of rural industrial development. Taiwan's Certification Trademark system gained protection of origin‐place quality reputation for its rural industrial communities. Meanwhile, Mongolia's Sui Generis appropriated the idea of GI for construction of desirable value chains for productive activities. Our observations and derived typology are useful as hindsight on what settings are conducive for GI protection and how they would mould a governing structure for productive activities.

A family-enterprise collective certification trademark: consumer insight

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to find out how consumers respond to a proposed family-enterprise collective certification trademark and how they perceive family firms in general.Design/methodology/approachThe paper employs a quantitative approach. It draws on a questionnaire survey conducted among 1,091 Polish consumers in January 2018. Statistical methods, such as exploratory factor analysis, were applied.FindingsPolish consumers responded positively to the proposed trademark. It also turned out that those who pay attention to the producer or the brand owner in a given sector also pay attention to the symbols placed on products or services from these sectors. There was a strong relationship between consumers' positive perceptions of family firms and their assessments of the proposed trademark. This did not extend to negative perceptions. The findings from this study may be generalisable to other post-communist societies.Practical implicationsFamily firms should redouble their efforts to introduce a family-enterprise collective certification trademark (not only in Poland, but also in those countries where such a trademark is non-existent). This should be handled by umbrella bodies for family business.Originality/valueLittle research work, based on a large and representative sample, has so far focussed on the issue of how consumers respond to a family-enterprise identity. The value of this study lies in deepening understanding of the processes and mechanisms that underlie the organisation–consumer relationship within the context of family-enterprise operation.

Intellectual property rights as branding services for exports value-adding: an analysis of Chile-s -Sello de Origen- programme

Intellectual property rights (IPRs) such as geographical indications (GIs), appellations of origin (AO), collective and certifications marks are intangible assets used as branding services to add value to products with unique characteristics derived from their geographical origin. Sello de Origen programme is a public certification trademark created in 2012 to preserve and stimulate the reputation and quality of traditional occupations and singular products in Chile using the IPRs mentioned. This research analysed the perceived impact of this programme as a branding service to add value to seven traditional products, through semi-structured interviews to key stakeholders from both private and public sectors. The programme has not achieved the expected benefits as small-scale producers do not know how to properly implement the seal, they are not working collaboratively. Therefore more coordination among public institutions is needed.

Intellectual property and agricultural trade: Producer perceptions of tea and coffee as potential geographical indications

Abstract Kenya tea and coffee are major foreign exchange earners and have high reputation among consumers in the international market. Faced by declining prices and competition from other sub-sectors, production area under these commodities has been declining. Use of intellectual property (IP) rights to protect and market agricultural commodities has been on the increase. Geographical indications as IP have been successfully implemented in developed countries and increasingly in developing countries. The study assesses producers’ awareness and perceptions of territorial-based qualities and the influence on product profits from the two export beverage crops, tea and coffee. Factor analysis was conducted on Likert scale perception questions administered to producers of coffee and tea from Muranga and Kirinyaga, respectively, in the Central region of Kenya. Producers of the two products were aware of the uniqueness of their products and their geographical source. Only perceptions related to market access in coffee and tea, and policies and rules as well as role of county government in coffee positively influenced income. Rather than have GI as a certification trademark, a prescriptive sui generis law would provide the required streamlining needed for collective participation of various actors along the value chain of potential GI products.

The concept, features and functions of the trademark in the law of the European Union

The article is devoted to the legal analysis and determination of the peculiarities of the definition «trademark» both in the European Union legislation and the scientific literature. The main purpose of the article is to identify the concept, essential features and functions of the trademark and meaning of the term «trademark» in the European Union legislation. In order to achieve the goal, the main attention in this article is given to the comprehensive study of the trademark definition in the European Union legislation and the scientific literature, the definition of essential trademark features, the study of the legal nature of the trademark.The article analyzes the establishment of supranational legal norms of the trademark use and protection in the European Union. Also, on the theoretical level, the main features of ensuring the circulation of a trademark in the European Union are highlighted.Functions of a trademark are observed as obligatory means of individualization of goods and services, consumer protection from counterfeit analogues of goods.A scientific analysis of the notion «certification mark» was conducted and the main specifications of the European Union certification mark were determined. The article provides with the legal definition of the certification mark and compares the trademark and the certification trademark in order to clearly differentiate them.As a result of the study, the essential features of a trademark are distinguished, distinguishing it from other means of individualization and results of intellectual activity

The Role of the State for Geographical Indications of Coffee: Case Studies from Colombia and Kenya

Summary In the context of de-regulation of the coffee sector, the registration of some Geographical Indications (GIs) has recently been implemented. This paper aims at answering to the following research question: how does GIs’ process (protection and management) help to rationalize the role of the state in the coffee sector? In Colombia, the National Coffee Growers Federation took all initiatives for the registration and implementation of Cafe de Colombia as a GI both in Colombia and in European Union and manages also the GI use. In Kenya, the Coffee Directorate registered the certification trademark “Coffee Kenya, So Rich So Kenyan” and acts as public body in charge of managing the coffee sector. Although both countries conceived different approaches, there is a common strategic line, which consists in attempting to secure downstream value of the long lasting origin coffee branding and in strengthening the quality management system. This paper shows that discrepancies in public intervention in the coffee industry depend on the empowerment of producers in this industry irrespective of the legal tool to protect GIs.

Strengthening an emergent horticulture cluster in Vietnam: interest group and certification trademark

Like many metropolises worldwide, Hanoi has long sourced its vegetables mainly from a peripheral green belt close to the city. Soil and water pollution, plus land conversion for infrastructure, industrial parks and housing development, have impaired this potential. Meanwhile, new production areas are emerging to supply the city's rising demand for fresh and safe vegetables. While new areas have greater access to available labour and land, they face the challenges of limited know-how, poor infrastructure and lack of an enabling environment. This article reports first achievements of a new methodological approach involving value-chain research-andintervention aimed to strengthen the emergence of a new vegetables cluster in Moc Chau, 150 km north-west of Hanoi. In 2013, producers from three villages delivered 230 tons of vegetables to Hanoi supermarkets and specialized safe-vegetable shops. The clustering process included the implementation of a multi-stakeholder vegetables interest group, experience-sharing trips and the setting up of a logo and certification trademark linked to the territory. The process also generated intense coordination, both horizontally within the territory and vertically along the value chain. Several challenges remain, such as upscaling this approach to a larger and ethnically more diverse beneficiary group, and promoting self-sustained local services. Moc Chau vegetable cluster is emerging rapidly and has the capacity to meet new urban demands. The clustering process was boosted by the identification of common interests, improved coordination among players and the implementation of place-based labelling. Family farm clusters, under an enabling environment, can be responsive and efficient suppliers for the urban vegetable market. (Resume d'auteur)

Millennium and Generation Next Trademarks: Trends in Branding and Merchandising

In the recent past the field of trademark has witnessed considerable changes and trends which have introduced certain millennium and innovative trademarks. It is important to know about these new millennium and generation next trademarks which brought up innovative trademarks such collective marks, sound marks, smell marks, certification trade mark, scent mark service mark, color mark, taste mark, well known trade mark and feel marks. The paper attempts to throw some light on the new millennium and generation next trademark and their status under the current fabric of law of trademarks.

Indigenous cultural heritage and Fairtrade: voluntary certification standards in the light of WIPO and WTO law and policymaking

Private initiatives for voluntary certification standards appear to be an attractive alternative to top-down approaches in the field of indigenous cultural heritage and development. Over the last 50 years, many different indigenous communities have attempted to use certification trademarks to promote their authentic cultural products. These schemes have had varying success, but arguably none has been as visually unsuccessful as the government-funded Australian system, which collapsed within two years of its inception. On the other side of the scale, the Fairtrade label is considered to be an international triumphant success. This paper assesses why the Australian authenticity label system failed, while the Fairtrade label succeeded, and how these conclusions can be used for existing and future endeavours. It further discusses whether such a voluntary certification system would be compliant with World Intellectual Property Organisation and World Trade Organisation law and policy. It concludes by looking towards the future and the possibility of the Fairtrade label being extended to meet the interests of indigenous communities.

British Food Journal Volume 46 Issue 9 1944

British Food Journal Volume 46 Issue 9 1944