WTO Public Symposium The TRIPS Agreement Ten Years Later:

1. WTO Public Symposium The TRIPS Agreement Ten Years Later: The Relationship Between Trademarks and GIsPresentation by Clay Hough Senior Vice President and General Counsel International Dairy Foods Association April 22, 2005

2. What is the International Dairy Foods Association? • IDFA is the U.S. dairy processors collective voice in Washington, D.C., throughout the country and in the international arena. • Members range from large multinational corporations to single plant operations, and represent more than 85% of the total volume of milk, cultured products, cheese, and ice cream and frozen desserts produced in the United States. • IDFA members market approximately 80 percent of the cheese products sold in the United States.

3. Extending protection of Geographic Indications (GIs) IDFA is concerned about: • Extension of protection of GIs. • Restriction of terms (“claw back”) that are in some cases deemed generic for foods. • The establishment of a multilateral register for wines and spirits and possible implications for food products.

4. EU’s Wish List In September 2003, during the Fifth Ministerial meeting in Cancun, Mexico, the EU presented a list of the following GIs to the WTO: • Asiago • Feta • Fontina • Gorgonzola • Grana Padano • Manchego • Mozzarella di Bufala Campagna • Parmiggiano Reggiano • Pecorino Romano • Reblochon • Roquefort

5. Why are GIs a concern ? • The current EU internal GI system protects: - 2,100 types of wines and spirits - 600 foods, including 149 cheeses - 63 meat-based products - 16 types of table olives

6. The Problem with the EU GI System ? • The current EU’s GI system: - inhibits U.S. feta and parmesan manufacturers to export their cheese to EU. • In Europe, Kraft cannot sell “Parmesan” instead it sells “Pamesello.”

7. A faulty EU GI System • The EU has problems enforcing its own GI system: • Germany is Europe's leading producer of Parmesan after Italy. • The largest producer of Feta is not a Greek company. The Danes manufacture most of the Feta in the EU. • Imagine enforcing and monitoring the use of GI terms.

8. Why are GIs a Concern? • Restrict use of commonly known product names in domestic market. • Result is reduced choice and consumer confusion as known products are withdrawn from the market. • Impact on exports to other WTO Member countries.

9. Why are GIs a concern? If WTO Members accept the GI registration system: - IDFA members companies would lose access to established product names. - Consumers would have to be convinced that the “new” product is the same quality as the cheese that they have been buying for decades. • Millions of dollars in packaging costs and marketing to preserve and regain sales.

10. Generic cheeses • IDFA members companies are some of the World’s largest producers of Mozzarella and Parmesan. • Leprino started manufacturing Mozzarella in 1950. • Kraft has been producing and marketing: - Parmesan cheese for more than six decades, and - Feta cheese for twenty years.

11. Potential GI ImpactOn IDFA Members Cheese # of Companies -Asiago 24 - Blue Cheese/Gorgonzola 22 - Cream Cheese/Neufchatel 29 - Feta 29 - Fontina 12 - Harvati 19 - Mascarpone 8 - Mozzarella 72 - Parmesan 43 - Provolone 39 - Romano 27 - Swiss/Emmental 34

12. Potential GI impact In 2002, the U.S. cheese industry was valued $13.7 billion (at wholesale). The amount of cheese produced in U.S. in 2003: • 2.806 billion lbs of Mozzarella • 676 million lbs of Cream Cheese/Neufchatel • 283 million lbs of Provolone • 264 million lbs of Swiss (Emmental) • 127 million lbs of Parmesan

13. GI solution • Key question is not whether to protect geographical indications but how to protect them. • U.S. trademark system provides for the registration of “certification marks, including indications of “regional origin.” • The following are all examples of GIs protected in the U.S. under the trademark system : - Parmigiano-Reggiano - Roquefort - Parma Ham - Stilton