On The Protection Mode Of Geographical Indications

As a new type of intellectual property，Geographical indications have beengradually acknowleged and accepted through the protection of internationalconventions and domestic laws.China is rich in history and biodiversity,and has plentyof traditional products，so there abundant geographical indications in our country.However, the intellectual property system started late in China，and patent，trademarkand copyright were studied earlier than geographical indications.Actually，geographical indications have been protected in the last20years，but there are a lot offlaws and loopholes in the legislation and implementation.Therefore，this articleanalyzes the current situation and problems of the protection of geographicalindications, and give some suggestion on building the protect mode of geographicalindications.The first chapter introduces the concept of geographical indications. The name ofgeographical indications has evoluted a lot these years，so this article selects three ofthe most important names to describe and analyze.Then this chapter proves thatgeographical indications has the attribute of intellectual property from the basictheory and the external characteristic of intellectual property.Finally a wealth ofvalue on economics and culture of geographical indications is demostrated in thischapter.The second chapter makes introduction on existing approaches for the protectionof geographical indications.Due to different history background, geographicalindications are protected under three main models: special law，collective marks andcertification marks，and anti-unfair competition law.The protecting measures ofgeographical indications in France and and the United States is also illustrated in thischapter.The third chapter mainly describes the protection of geographical indications inChina.This chapter retraces the process of protecting geographical indications in ourcountry.Then two protecting modes adopted in China is introduced:Trademark Lawand The Protective Regulation of Products in geographical indications. The fourth chapter explores the problems existing in the protection ofgeographical indications in China.After discussing the loopholes in Trademark Lawand The Protective Regulation of Products in Geographical Indications，this chapteranalyzes the conflicts between the two modes.And the causes of the problems areexamined in this chapter too.The fifth chapter puts forward suggestions on the improvement of geographicalindications protection system.The purpose of legislation is protecting the privaterights of geographic indication and the interests of producers.Different modes shouldbe adopted to strength the protection.We should take actions in two aspects：on onehand we should revise the concerning laws such as trademark law,anti-competitionlaw and etc.，on the other hand a special law on protecting the rights of GeographicalIndications should be legislated.