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Geographical Indications – The New Marketing Tool for Wine Producers

19 Jun 2007

The Geographical Indications (Wines and Spirits) Registration Act 2006 is the new law affecting wines and spirits in New Zealand. The government says that geographical indications will provide a valuable marketing tool for New Zealand wine.

What are geographical indications?

CHAMPAGNE from France.  PARMA ham from Italy.  BASMATI rice from the foothills of the Himalayas.  These are all geographical indications because the names signify something about the quality of a product and where it is from.

New Zealand wine is something to be proud of.  Marlborough sauvignon blanc is internationally recognised as special.  Pinot Noir from Central Otago or Martinborough is sought after.  The law will allow Marlborough, Central Otago, Martinborough and other such names to be registered as geographical indications.  Once registered, only growers from within the region will be able to use the name.

Think of geographical indications as an umbrella brand.  Under the umbrella are the individual wine brands from the area.  The geographical indication promotes the region.  A wine brand promotes a particular business from the region.

A geographical indication may be for the broad area or some smaller location. Bannockburn in Central Otago could be a geographic indication for a smaller location.

There may be issues over the boundaries for a geographic indication.  These issues may involve soil type and typography.  Who uses the name, how is it used, and where are the vines located are all questions that will need to be considered to work out whether a name is a geographical indication.

What is the relationship between geographical indications and brand names?

A geographical indication must be a name that is in use.  By contrast wine brand names can be registered before they are used.

Many wine brands refer to a bay, road, mountain ridge or valley.   Evocative geographic references for wine brands can cause conflict with geographical indications.

You spend much time and money promoting your brand so you don’t want to find that your brand is being used as a geographical indication for your area. Owners of the geographical indication will benefit from your hard work.

Which is stronger— a geographical indication or a trade mark registration?

The new law in New Zealand sets out a first in time rule—first in first served.  A trade mark registration will stop the registration of a geographical indication.  A geographical indication will prevent registration of a trade mark.

There are different rules in other countries.  In Europe it does not matter which is first.  A geographic indication trumps a trade mark registration.  The owner of the TORRES brand has used this brand for well over a hundred years.  A small village in Portugal then registered a similar name as a geographical indication.  The owners of the TORRES brand suddenly found they could not use their own brand.  It took a special exception to the law for the company to keep using TORRES.

What impact does the New Zealand law have on goods exported to foreign countries?

As a New Zealand law, the new Act does not apply outside New Zealand.  But the Act is highly relevant overseas all the same.

New Zealand law allows foreign geographical indications to be registered in New Zealand.  In return we will get our geographical indications recognised and protected under the laws of other countries.

What about foreign geographical indications like Sherry and Port? 

These are generic in New Zealand but geographical indications in Europe.

New wine producing countries like New Zealand, Australia and the United States do not want generic names getting protection as geographical indications.  On the other hand the old-world producers see this as a way to claw back protection for such names which are being abused.

The New Zealand law provides that generic or customary names should not be registered as geographic indications.

Where are we at now?

Even though our geographic indications law has been made, it is not operating yet.  The regulations that will set out the details of the registration and objection process have yet to be finalised.  These regulations are expected to be finalised later this year.  In the meantime work is underway at both a national and international level to identify proper geographical indications.

Wine producers should look at their existing and potential brands.  If your brand is at risk of being adopted as the geographical indication for your area, then you should register it as a trade mark now.

Nigel Robb
Senior Associate, A J Park Wellington
nigel.robb@ajpark.com
DDI +64 4 498 3430

An edited version of this article was published in Wine Technology New Zealand June 2007