Minister of Agriculture: protecting geographical brands is a priority for Georgia
The protection of geographical indications is one of the key parts of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area Agreement (DCFTA) with the EU. Photo: Ministry of Agriculture.
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Protecting geographical indications is one of the priorities of the Georgian agriculture and rural development strategy, Minister of Agriculture Levan Davitashvili said at the International Conference on Geographical Indications held in Tbilisi today.
It is important to create effective control mechanisms that will increase the credibility of [Georgian] products… We can only add marketing value to Georgian products by properly managing and maintaining protected appellations of origin”, said Davitashvili.
The protection of geographical indications is one of the key parts of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area Agreement (DCFTA) with the EU.
Protection of geographical indications is very important for Georgia at the international level... Georgia is a leading country in the region which is involved in many international agreements to protect appellations of origin and geographical indications”, said the chairman of the National Intellectual Property Center of Georgia (Sakpatenti) Genadi Lebanidze.
As of today, 48 geographical indications and appellations of origin are protected in Georgia. These include: 20 varieties of wine, eight types of mineral water, 13 types of cheese, as well as chacha, Matsoni (Georgian traditional milk product), Churchkhela, potatoes from Akhalkalaki, herbs from Kutaisi, tea from Tkibuli, honey from Machakhela.
The conference is organised by the National Intellectual Property Center of Georgia (Sakpatenti) and Organization for an International Geographical Indications Network (OriGIn).
The aim of the event is to promote the protection of geographical indications in Georgia and raise the awareness of Georgian entrepreneurs in this regard. Another goal is to support communication with foreign partners and introduce local products to them.
The brand names and appellation of origin of Georgian wines, cheese and mineral waters in Switzerland will now be protected by a Georgain-Swiss agreement.
Counterfeited Georgian wines were seized from one of the trade networks in Poland thanks to the Georgian National Wine Agency and the National Intellectual Property Centre Sakpatenti.
Georgia is cementing its international reputation as a producer of high quality agricultural products by giving geographical indications to about 130 products to improve their export opportunities.
Georgia is promoting and protecting the name and quality of its national alcoholic beverages from misuse and imitation in China.
An EU-funded project called “Establishing Efficient Protection and Control System of Geographical Indications (GIs) in Georgia” will seek to boost the efficient protection and control system of Georgia’s geographical indications.
Ham from Racha, a region in western Georgia and peaches from Gurjaani, a city in eastern Georgia, will be added to the list of geographical indications.