According to the trademark examination standards, a trademark that only indicates the place of production of goods lacks distinctiveness and cannot be registered as a trademark. Geographical indications can be registered as certification marks or collective marks.
A geographical indication trademark is a sign that indicates that a product originates from a certain region, and that the specific quality, reputation or other characteristics of the product are mainly determined by the natural or human factors of the region. Applying for a geographical indication certification trademark is a common practice internationally to protect specialty products. By applying for a geographical indication certification trademark, we can rationally and fully utilize and preserve natural resources, human resources and geographical heritage, effectively protect high-quality specialty products and promote the development of specialty industries.
Geographic indication certification mark:
Geographical indication is a stipulation in Section 3 of Part II of the WTO (World Trade Organization) Intellectual Property Agreement "Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights" (TRIPS for short) Members’ obligations to protect geographical indications.
The TRIPS Agreement defines geographical indications: “Geographical indications refer to signs that prove that a product originates from a certain member country or a certain region or a certain place within the region. Certain characteristics of the product Certain qualities, reputations or other characteristics are essentially attributable to that geographical origin”.
A geographical indication is an indication of the origin of a specific product. It can be the name of a country, the name of an administrative division and the name of a region or region that will not cause misunderstanding.
The basic characteristics of geographical indications are three points: (1) It indicates the true source of the goods or services (i.e. the geographical location of the origin); (2) The goods or services have unique quality, reputation or other characteristics ;(3)The quality or characteristic is essentially attributable to its special geographical origin.
From the above definition, it is not difficult to see that the geographical indications that the TRIPS Agreement requires member states to protect are actually more special geographical indications, which are closer to the names of origins.
Similar to trademarks, the main function of geographical indications is to distinguish the source of goods. While it is conceivable that geographical indications may be used for services, such a broad scope of application of geographical indications is not currently used in international treaties administered by WIPO or in the TRIPS Agreement. Unlike trademarks, geographical indications distinguish goods by indicating the place of production rather than the source of manufacture. The designation of the place of manufacture or production is the essence of a geographical indication. Geographical indications are different from trademarks in that they are not randomly selected, and the indications of geographical indications are irreplaceable.
Generally speaking, a geographical indication is recognized in the country where the place to which the geographical indication refers is located. This country is often called the "country of origin". According to the Lisbon Agreement, "the country of origin refers to the country or region or place where the name constitutes the appellation of origin and gives the product a reputation".
In principle, all manufacturers are allowed to use a certain geographical name, as long as the goods bearing the geographical name originate from the indicated place, or comply with some applicable standards for the product (if any words), depending on the situation.
Legal users of geographical indications have the right to prevent anyone whose goods do not originate from the place indicated by the geographical indication from using the geographical indication. Like trademarks, geographical indications are subject to the principle of "particularity", that is, the protection they receive is limited to the type of products in which they are actually used; the principle of "territory" is also applied, that is, they are only protected within a certain territorial scope and are protected by that territory. constrained by laws and regulations. Prestigious geographical indications are an exception to the principle of particularity. Currently, neither the treaties administered by WIPO nor TRIPS provide such expanded protection for geographical indications.