WASHINGTON, D.C. (Reuters) – The United States and European Union have reached a compromise over the use of prestigious geographical food names like Champagne and Parma, clearing one of the last obstacles to an international pact to battle the growing trade in counterfeit goods.
“We found the solution even on that toughest of issues,” a U.S. trade official said, referring to a deal struck during the Oct. 2-3 weekend in Tokyo on the proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement between nearly 40 countries.
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development has estimated that global trade in counterfeit and pirated goods rose to about $250 billion in 2007 from roughly $100 billion annually in 2000.
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One of the last issues resolved in talks stemmed from a long-running battle between the United States and the EU over the right to use European place names, like Champagne, Parma or Roquefort, for some of the world’s most popular foods and beverages.
American business groups worried that the EU’s demand to cover geographical indicators in the pact could mean U.S. products as commonplace as Kraft parmesan cheese could be treated as illegal items and subject to customs seizures.
EU companies were concerned that protections for geographical indicators outside of the trademark system would not have the same status under the pact as other intellectual property.
“Essentially, the core of the compromise is … that parties should provide border measures without discriminating between various IP rights,” said the U.S. official, who spoke on condition that he not be identified.
“The EU didn’t want there to be a situation created where you’re discriminating in favour of trademarks, that trademarks get better protection than these sui generis GI regimes.
“So, they were able to take comfort from the principle that a party should not discriminate between intellectual property rights and that parties should avoid creating barriers to legitimate trade,” he said.
The United States and the EU have also been battling over geographical indicators in the Doha Round of world trade talks, so the deal in Tokyo may not be the final word on the subject.
