Mercosur agreement guarantees protection to typical products, such as Canasta cheese
A doctor in administration from the University of São Paulo (USP), Virgínia Castro, who has a postdoctoral degree in geographical indications (GIs), explains that a GI is a type of intellectual property.
“It is a product that has a reputation, notoriety, unique characteristic that can only be produced in that way, in that place, in that climate, or that the people there have their own culture and developed the technique to make that product, they have a know-how that cannot be copied, that cannot be done elsewhere. So, it has this characteristic of something unique linked to a territory, a people or a culture”.
Castro says that each country has its own rules to protect its geographical indications. In Brazil, the registration of a GI is conferred by the National Institute of Intellectual Property (INPI). Wine produced in Vale dos Vinhedos (RS), coffee from the Cerrado Mineiro region (MG), footwear from Franca (SP) and cachaça from Paraty (RJ) are some examples of indications protected by the INPI.
The IG works as a seal that certifies that a certain product or service can only have been made in a certain place. In this way, it grants producers or service providers in that region the exclusive use of the geographical indication. As obvious as it may seem, a cheese from Canasta cannot receive that name if it was not produced in that region and under those conditions registered with the INPI.
In addition, IG guarantees the reputation and qualities associated with its origin and protects consumers from counterfeits.
Mutual Protection
O agreement for the Mutual Protection of Originating Geographical Indications in the Territories of the Member States of Mercosur was closed in 2019, in Bento Gonçalves (RS), by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. As the name implies, the idea is the reciprocal protection of GIs that originate in these four countries.
According to the text, each country will have to grant effective protection to the geographical indications of the others as if they were their own. In order for a GI to be recognized and protected, the Mercosur member country must send a technical sheet with data on that product or service.
After the application has been submitted to publicity and transparency mechanisms, anyone interested in that process can manifest itself to contribute with the technical opinion on the GI, which is the responsibility of the national body responsible for its recognition (in the case of Brazil, the INPI ). Once the opinion is concluded, the Mercosur countries decide to recognize the geographical indication.
Deputy Arlindo Chinaglia (PT-SP) was the rapporteur for the PDL that approved the agreement, at the Committee on Foreign Relations and National Defense (CREDN), of the Chamber of Deputies. According to the parliamentarian, the treaty will serve to add value to recognized products and services, in addition to protecting against misuse as a trademark, unfair competition or misleading consumers.
“The agreement brings rules for the geographical indications protected in Brazil to be recognized and protected along with the other Mercosur partners. The same applies to the other members. It is an important measure to expand the bloc’s integration also in the field of intellectual property , promoting the expansion of products typical of Mercosur and our market. It represents, therefore, a reciprocal gain for our economies”.
For Virgínia Castro, the agreement is positive for Brazil because it gives visibility to Brazilian GIs among consumers in neighboring countries and, therefore, can expand trade.
The agreement is being discussed in the National Congress in the form of the draft legislative decree (PDL) 165/2022.
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By Brasil 61
