Following the success of the joint EUIPO and European Commission (DG AGRI) Conference “Trade Marks and Geographical Indications: future perspectives” held in Alicante in October 2018, EUIPO and the Commission joined forces again. On 25-26 November, the ‘Strengthening Geographical Indications (GIs) – online Conference 2020’ took place. 

The Conference brought together GIs and trade mark IP rights practitioners, and enabled interactive exchange of knowledge. Also, it launched a broad public consultation process for the ‘strengthening GIs’ review, as well as the new GIview. 

A specific panel was dedicated to the “Global spread of GIs”. This panel discussed the international/global dimension of the GI policy with its benefits and socio-economic impact on non-EU countries, as well as sharing experiences from producers of GI-labelled products in non–EU countries on the added value and opportunities of registering a GI as well as lessons learned during the process.

Two African GIs, namely the Rooibos tea (South Africa) and the Penja Pepper (Cameroon), were presented in this panel as success stories. Representatives from the Rooibos Council and from OAPI shared their experience with the audience and engaged in a rich discussion regarding the lessons learned from these two GIs.

Watch the video: https://vimeo.com/476250462