Orsha flax, Narach water and Malorita bread: the importance of geographical indications for the protection of national brands

Natalia Sinishova HEAD of the Trademark Department of the National Center for Intellectual Property

One of the legal mechanisms for protecting goods and services, their producers, as well as preserving the reputation of regions is the geographical indication and appellation of origin of goods. With such protection, the owner of the brand has the right to claim the property produced, invoking the law. This is of great importance for the development of regions, many of which have their own historical, cultural or natural uniqueness. The head of the Trademark Department of the National Center for Intellectual property of Natalia Sinishova.

Belarus does not have such traditions of using and registering geographical indications as in the countries of Western Europe or the usa . According to Natalia Sinishova, there are two reasons for this. Firstly, for the legal protection of a geographical indication, a business entity needs to obtain a document - the conclusion of the competent authority that its product marked with a geographical indication has special properties and / or qualities associated with this place of origin. Secondly, Belarusian business entities know little about such an object of intellectual property as a geographical indication, and about what benefits it can provide.

Since 2021, the NCIP has begun active work to popularize the law "On Geographical Indications". "Last year we took part in the Vytok festival. We traveled through five regions of the republic and gave seminars where we told what region, what unique goods we have. This year we continued this work. First, we sent letters to the regional executive committees so that they they monitored on the ground what unique goods they could present. As part of the Forum of Regions in Grodno, they also held a field seminar where business entities were told about the benefits of geographical indications," said Natalya Sinishova.

The registration of a geographical indication is possible for a wide variety of products. "We have made the widest possible list of those goods that can be protected by this object of intellectual property. These are animals, plants, agricultural products, and handicrafts - weaving, clay, porcelain and glass products, all kinds of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, mineral waters , teas, spices. The list is very large and is still open," the head of the department said.

Who can get a geographical indication

The NCIP has established a wide range of entities that can obtain legal protection for a geographical indication.

"We have made a fairly wide subject composition. Individuals, organizations, legal entities, associations of persons with different subject composition can receive a geographical indication. For example, in Belarus there are craftswomen who weave unique towels. Taking into account the norms of our law, each of them will be able to submit an application for a geographical indication and obtain the right to use such a name as, for example, Neglub towels," Natalya Sinishova emphasized.

Producer associations can also obtain legal protection in the form of a geographical indication. There is a village of Dribin in the Mogilev region, where for 300 years Belarusian felt boots - shapovals - have been produced using a unique technology. Residents of this village can form a producers' association and apply for a geographical indication. As Natalya Sinishova noted, an association can consist of individuals and legal entities. There are no restrictions. It can be large enterprises, representatives of medium and small businesses - anyone who is interested.

Procedure for obtaining a geographical indication

The legal protection of geographical indications is based on the registration procedure. To obtain it, you must submit an application of the established form, pay a patent fee for filing, examination and registration. The peculiarity of the procedure is the need to obtain a conclusion from the competent authority that the product has a special property, quality or reputation associated with the place of origin of this product. The National Academy of Sciences and all its subordinate institutions, organizations, research centers that are able to conduct an assessment are defined as such competent authority in the law "On Geographical Indications".

The procedure for obtaining geographical indications itself consists of several stages - filing an application with payment of patent fees and passing a preliminary examination and examination on the merits.

"We must analyze whether this designation really corresponds to the definition contained in the law, and whether it can be a geographical indication, whether it has become a specific one. Also, the examination will essentially check the conclusion that business entities will provide us, having previously received it from the subordinate Institute of the Academy of Sciences," commented Natalya Sinishova.

Which geographical indications are already protected by the NCIP

The National Center for Intellectual Property in Belarus protects 37 types of goods, of which only three are Belarusian.

Under the protection of the NCIS are 24 Georgian items of goods, Irish and Scottish whiskey, Armenian trout, Tula gingerbread, a number of Italian items. Such Belarusian goods as Minskaya mineral water, Lidskoye beer and Lidsky kvass have received legal protection in the form of a geographical indication.

which is widely popular but not protected by geographical indications. This list also includes dishes of national cuisine.

Benefits of geographical indications for producers, consumers and the region

To stimulate Belarusian business entities, the NCIP has compiled a list of the benefits of legal protection in the form of geographical indications. In particular, manufacturers receive a marketing product with unique properties, which is entered in the state register, and another such product can no longer appear. "Registration of geographical indications is a very effective marketing tool that Belarusian business entities practically do not use," the expert noted.

Another advantage that the manufacturer receives is the right of use, that is, the right to prohibit others from using their product. The rule also applies to those goods that are an imitation, analogy, type or type of registered goods.

"The consumer, using a product with registered geographical indications, acquires guaranteed quality products. He trusts the manufacturer and is ready to pay a high price for this product, because it is distinguished by quality, unique properties and characteristics," the specialist emphasized.

The region gains much more from the registration of geographical indications by business entities than the producer and consumer. "The region is the biggest beneficiary of advantages today. I believe that it is precisely because of this that the regions should provide maximum assistance and support to those business entities that are ready to bring a unique product to the market. The region, in fact, receives a powerful tool to promote itself on the market through this unique product. For example, the Orsha flax mill is famous far beyond the borders of the country for its flax. Thus, the city of Orsha itself became famous," the head of the department added.

Another advantage for the regions is the ability to create new investment projects. Small and medium-sized businesses, for the development of which investment funds are allocated, arise precisely on the basis of local production of traditional products. And traditional production, in turn, attracts tourists to the region.

Producers with the potential to obtain geographical indication protection

There are producers in the country that have the potential to obtain legal protection in the form of geographical indications. They can be divided into three clusters. The first group includes large enterprises that already produce products with unique properties, but do not provide legal protection for them. This group includes, for example, Germes LLC, which is engaged in the extraction and processing of sapropel mud from Lake Svyatoe in the Gomel region, as well as the Orsha flax mill, Narach mineral water, and Starodorozhskaya mineral water.

The second cluster consists of enterprises that have the potential to produce unique consumer products, but they do not use it. This group includes Belarusian sanatoriums, on the territory of which there are wells with mineral water or lakes with sapropelic mud. These include, for example, the sanatoriums "Forest Lakes" and "Radon", which could bottle mineral water from their wells and sell it to a wide consumer.

The third cluster includes handicrafts and farm products. "The group consists of manufacturers who are trying to preserve or revive the traditions of producing unique Belarusian goods. These are towels, and carpets, and straws, and Belarusian bread, for example, Malorita buckwheat bread, Golshansky gingerbread, Kirov smazhnya, Bobruisk pastila. The list can be long, - noted Natalya Sinishova. - It is better for enterprises of the third cluster - small handicraft or farms - to unite in associations of producers in order to jointly control the production system, the quality of products and develop marketing schemes to promote goods on the market. And it is for these business entities that it is extremely important support of the regional authorities.

BELTA.