Abstract: Geographical indications (GIs) protection is related to the development of agricultural branding and the competition for the high-end in the global value chain. Regarding this issue, there are two competing sets of institutional logic, namely subjective relevance and objective relevance, between countries in the old world and the new world, as well as two institutional models, namely, trademark law and sui generis protection. Affected by this situation, China has established two systems for GIs: trademark law and sui generis protection, both of which aim to ensure the authenticity of the origin of products, rather than the association between GIs and the unique quality of products, which has led to the failure of the quality assurance function of GIs. In light of the similarities in resource endowments and industrial development directions between China and the EU, China should adopt the EU's "terrior" logic to provide strict protection of GIs in the specialized legislation on GIs. In selecting the protection approach, due to the challenges faced by the sui generis system from the trademark law, the more feasible way is to achieve the "terrior" logic through the grafting of trademark law, positioning the Geographical Indications Law as a special law of the Chinese Trademark Law, incorporating GI products system and agricultural GI products system into the trademark law, and establishing a dual protection standards: only prohibiting acts that lead to consumers' confusion of the origin for ordinary GIs; and providing anti-dilution protection and establishing strict registration examination, quality control, and law enforcement mechanisms for designation of origins whose product quality or characteristics are completely determined by the origin and GIs with a wide reputation.
Key Words: geographical indication; trademark law; sui generis protection; terrior
Author: ZHANG Haoran, an assistant research fellow at CASS Institute of Law and a research fellow at CASS Center for Intellectual Property Studies.
Source: 4 (2024) Intellectual Property.
