1 / 17

Gaining competitiveness through Geographic Indications in Sri Lanka

Gaining competitiveness through Geographic Indications in Sri Lanka. Ravindra A. Yatawara Head, International Economic Policy Unit and Research Fellow, Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka. GI as a source of competitive advantage.

shania
Download Presentation

Gaining competitiveness through Geographic Indications in Sri Lanka

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Gaining competitiveness through Geographic Indications in Sri Lanka Ravindra A. Yatawara Head, International Economic Policy Unit and Research Fellow, Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka

  2. GI as a source of competitive advantage • Can an intellectual property based strategy be successful in promoting particular industries? • GIs are indications used to distinguish goods having certain properties. GIs identify a particular geographical area which is connected to the properties of the goods.

  3. Economic Rationale for GIs • Product differentiation, niche marketing based on reputed high quality • Higher profits through price premiums • Consumer protection- prevents deception • Producer protection- stimulates investment • Rural Development- most GIs exhibit rural bias- agric, use traditional knowledge

  4. TRIPS GI Regime • According to TRIPS (Art. 22.1), • “Geographical indications are, for the purposes of this Agreement, indications which identify a good as originating in the territory of a Member, or a region or locality in that territory, where a given quality, reputation or other characteristic of the good is essentially attributable to its geographical origin.” • Art 24 exceptions- “generic” • “ GI not protected in country of origin” • Art 23-more protection 4 wines and spirits

  5. TRIPS does not specify national implementation • 1)Laws focusing of business practices and consumer protection • 2)Trademark laws • 3)Special “sui generis” system of protection • -countries use combinations of above, also differ within category • international protection of GIs depends on meeting differing requirements in each of the countries where protection is sought

  6. GI Protection in Sri Lanka-1)Laws Focusing on Business Practice or consumer protection • Unfair Competition Law –Section 160 of the Intellectual Property Act 2003 • Consumer Protection Law- Cosumer Affairs Authority Act , No. 9, 2003 • False trade prescriptions- 186(1)(d) of the IP Act 2003 • Action for passing-off

  7. GI Protection in Sri Lanka-2)Trademark Law • GI is protected against being registered as an ordinary trademark, incl if mark is geographical name • Allows certification marks, collective marks- but limitations in the use of geographic name- Nuwara Eliya versus Ceylon

  8. GI Protection in Sri Lanka-3) Special “Sui generis” system • Part IX, Chapter XXXIII of the IP Act 2003- adopts TRIPs definition of GI applicable to wines and spirits, extends it to services. • Relief includes injunction, damages and destruction of infringement goods • Does not provide for registration/ prior recognition- protection based on eligibility criteria in the particular action brought- drawback • However, section 191(b) of the IP Act 2003 provides that “any person who makes a false declaration in respect of [a] geographical indication inclusive of Ceylon Tea and Ceylon Cinnamon” shall be guilty of an offence • “sui generis” system by regulation- a means for implementing a special system of protection for GIs in the particular industry or sector-power given to the relevant Minister or statutory Authority to adopt regulations

  9. Economic Costs of GIs • Marketing costs – to establish reputation, differentiation to global consumers • Costs of obtaining registration/GI recognition- vary by country -i) fees ii) onerous requirements of foreign authorities- e.g. EC Regulation 2081/92 requires quality verified by third party inspection iii) legal costs when registration opposed by interested parties abroad. Parma in USA- US$ 1 mln and 10 years. • Cost of enforcing GI – in case of infringement

  10. Experience with GIs-The case of CEYLON TEA • Introduced in 1867, traditional export • Orthodox vs. CTC (cut tear curl) methods • Producers, brokers, buyers at Colombo auction • Colombo auctions- most of the tea is bought for supplying packers overseas, or domestic processing into value-added forms for overseas brands. • The Sri Lanka Tea Board exercises regulatory supervision of the tea industry -monitoring of minimum quality standard of made tea at the point of sale.

  11. Sri Lanka leading global exporter- followed by Kenya • Ranking in production- China, India, Sri Lanka, Kenya • SL (orthodox) and Kenya (CTC) export share by volume similar, but by value SL – $ 640 mln, Kenya $432 mln • Recently SL promoting specialty teas

  12. Position of Tea IGOs • “Ceylon Tea” identifies tea originating in Sri Lanka (Ceylon till 1972), which possesses a distinctive quality and reputation essentially attributable to its geographical origin. – meets TRIPS def of GIs • -also eligible are the 6 main agro-climatic regions- Nuwara Eliya, Dimbula, Kandy, Ruhuna, Uva and Uda Pussellawa.

  13. Sri Lanka Tea Board has registered “Ceylon Tea – Symbol of Quality” accompanied by a logo of a lion, as a trademark under the Intellectual Property Act, No. 36 of 2003. • mark may only be affixed on retail containers (value-added teas)packed in Sri Lanka -the tea should be 100 per cent Ceylon Tea above ISO 3720 standard • section 191(b) of the IP Act 2003 specifically recognises Ceylon Tea as a GI, entitling it to the protection provided by Chapter XXXIII of the IP Act 2003. Accordingly, “Ceylon Tea” and the Ceylon Tea indication satisfy the domestic protection criterion giving rise to the right to protection under TRIPS, and which is a prerequisite for extending protection to foreign GIs under most national sui generis GI systems.

  14. The Tea Board has also registered the Ceylon Tea mark as a trademark in around 80 countries • normally a geographically descriptive name cannot be registered under the trademark system as an ordinary trademark. • in many markets, registration has only been permitted of the lion logo without the accompanying words “Ceylon Tea,” • falls short of protecting the GI “Ceylon Tea.” • Six sub- regions can achieve protection through a special system under the Tea Board Law

  15. Cost of GI protection abroad will depend on opposition from foreign packers and this opposition will depend on Tea Board rules of GI usage. Currently trademark use only for domestic packers • To include foreign packers, will have to have inspection mechanism abroad- financed by license fees

  16. Scope of SAARC Cooperation • Typically no natural role for cooperation from SL perspective since GI is based on differentiation • Cooperation in technical aspects in particular markets, US, EU, CIS • Joint stand in extending article 23 level protection to non-wine and spirits products

  17. Thank You

More Related