Legal Consideration For Perfecting The System Of Geographical Indication Protection

Due to the tendency of the economic globalization, the protection of geographicalindication (GI) becomes a highlight within the field of the intellectual property (IP)protection and the international trading. The present article relates to the GI protectionissues in our country, and concerns about making choice between two systems ofprotection. The GI is a relatively new concept for our country, and the lawmaking andrelated practice are in the early step of finding and starting up. As GI relates to rightsof multiple parties and gigantic profits in protecting famous domestic products andinternational trading, most of the countries are urging to protect GI in their countriesand to seek international protection. In the 《TRIPs》 signed by the GATT (which is theformer body of the WTO), the GI is listed as an IP right which is parallel with thetrademark, the patent and the copyright, and all members of the WTO should protect itpractically. As a member of the WTO, the PR China must fulfill her obligation toprotect the GI. In our country, numerous local famous products have been gestateddue to her broad territory, her unique natural geographical conditions and her luxuriantcultural tradition. Though our GI protection was started up later when compared withother countries, for example, France etc., however, upon efforts made by the theoreticsresearchers and the relating departments of the government, the academical study, thelawmaking and the legal practice concerning the GI protection in our country aremaking effect. The author has engaged examination of registered trademarks for quitea long time, and has taken part in examination of certification trademarks (including theGI), thus has accumulated a plenty of practices concerning the protection of the GI ofour country. In the present article, by using comparing-study method, upon discussingconcepts and characteristics of the indication of source, the GI, the collective trademark,the certification trademark, the original producing area protection, as well as theirrelationships between each other, the international treaties of GI protection, the relatedlaws/regulations of our country, and the mature experiences of other developedcountries (especially by comparing the protection practices performed by France and theUSA, the two countries which represent the two systems of protection of GI, i.e., asystem of protection of GI by adopting specifically made system of registration of theGI, and a system of protection of GI by adopting certification trademark and collectivetrademark, respectively) are introduced systematically. The urgency of the GIprotection in our country is specifically analyzed by providing examples, and thepresent problems are concerned straightly. The status in quo in our country of the GIprotection by trademark law system and by original producing area protection isanalyzed objectively, and the advantages and the disadvantages of the co-existence ofthe two systems are analyzed. The author provides her envisages and suggestions forchoosing between systems of GI protection and between styles of law executing in ourcountry, by incorporating practical experiences.