Geographical Indications

Cape Verde is an island state formed by ten islands of volcanic origin, located in the tropical north-western Atlantic Ocean, on the African continent, 500km off the coast of Senegal. With landscapes varying from dry plains to high active volcanoes with cliffs rising steeply from the ocean, islands in the east are arid and only sparsely settled to exploit their extensive salt deposits, while the more southerly ones receive more precipitation and support larger populations, but agriculture and livestock grazing have impacted the soil fertility and vegetation.

The west African nation of Benin has registered its first protected geographical indication at the African Intellectual Property Organisation on 28 October.  The honour goes to the sugarloaf pineapple from the Allada Plateau, which has juicy and sweet white flesh, and the distinction of remaining green when fully ripe.

On 30 July 2019, the Mauritius Parliament approved and passed the Industrial Property Bill 2019, it was then published in the Government Gazette on 10 August 2019. The bill aims to update and strengthen protection for IP rights, as well as to harmonize the current legislation in order to meet the challenges of the globalized industry.

During its short existence, the Cape Verde Institute of Management and Quality of Intellectual Property (IGQPI) has mainly focused on protecting trademarks and patents. Other IP rights – such as appellations of origin and geographical indications (GIs) – have therefore been ignored.

Lisbon was chosen by World Intellectual Property Organization – WIPO to receive the Worldwide Symposium on Geographical Indications.

This event takes place every two years, bringing together representants from all around the globe, and other Intellectual Property Professionals, to discussed this distinctive and very important topic to the development of local economies.

The province of Tete, in Mozambique, has a goat population estimated in about 300 thousand animals, which has been increasing over the years, and is classified as the first goat producer in this country.

A Geographical Indication (GI) works to identify products that own qualities, characteristics or reputation associated with a region (when clearly differentiated and easily identifiable) and are of extreme importance for the market, since it establishes a trustworthy relationship between the producer and the consumer.

In march of 2018, Cambodia became the first country in the world to join the Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement on Appellations of Origin and Geographical Indications.

This Act provides a system for a single application, through The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)​ and a single set of fees, for registering appellations of origin or geographical indications across multiple jurisdictions, rather than applying  in each country individually.​

Now, this ​Act needs four more parties to join before entering​ into force.

John Steinbeck, in one of his works, questioned "Without our past, how will we know it´s us?"  João de Barros also said "the man without memory has the understanding of little boy".

The preservation of our past, made of narrations and expositions of facts and memorable events, is a common concern for as long as memory exists. Characterized by historical feats, it is also externalized by artistic forms, namely traditional cultural expressions.

The new Bill has relevant changes to it, which makes it look far more like a modern trademark statute.

Three months ago, on December 2017, a new Trademark Bill was approved by the Malawi’s Parliament and sent to the President in order to assent it. This Bill was created to replace the Trade Marks Act 1957, which was yet antiquated and in need of updating.

The Canada – European Union Trade Agreement (CETA, from Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement) aims to facilitate and reduce barriers to trade, as 98% of the trade tariffs will be removed. The deal was recently ratified by the European Parliament. CETA has several Intellectual Property (IP) related provisions which might affect companies that wish to provide goods across borders and protect their IP assets.