Organization for an International Geographical Indications Network

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Organization for an International Geographical
Indications Network

• Two Years after

General Assembly meeting
Hangzhou, China, 14 November 2005
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• OriGIn - a Non Governmental Organisation (NGO)
  launched in June 2003.
• First and only International network of GI
  producers
• Members from more than 30 developed and
  developing countries
• Over 80 organizations of producers
• More than one million GI producers represented!

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Who is who in

• Members producers and organizations of GI
  producers
• Associate members Persons or organizations
  interested in supporting OriGIns objectives
• Management Committee 2004 - 2005

• Treasurer Maurice Kamano
• OriGIns Secretariat Secretary General David
  Thual Legal
• Adviser Ester Olivas

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Members accross the world

• Food products
• Non food
• products

• Argan Oil, Karite Butter, Guinean Pinapples,
  Kenyan Tea, Slavonski domaci Kulin , Basmati
  Rice, Habanos, Café Veracruz, Pisco from Perú,
  Antigua Coffee, Tequila, Parma Ham, Parmigiano
  Reggiano, Comté cheese, Pruneaux dAgen,
  Roquefort cheese, Reblochon cheese, wine of
  Chateauneauf du Pape, Jamón de Teruel, Jijona and
  Turrón de Alicante, Cítricos valencianos, Swiss
  viande Séchée du Valais, Gruyère cheese, etc.
• Kilim carpets, Thaï silk, Swiss watches, etc.

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Over the past two years
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June 2003 Creation of

• Geneva GI days

Producers from all over the world met for the 1st
time. Call for better protection of GIs and for
the recognition of the essential role of GIs in
sustainable development.

• Adoption of a Geneva Declaration
• Decision to create an international
• network to protect and promote Geographical
  Indications OriGIn

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November 2003 First General Assembly

• Hosted by GIs Jijona and Turrón de Alicante
  (Spain) - founding members - OriGIn first General
  Assembly

• Achievements in Alicante
• Legal set up of OriGIn, adopting the Statutes and
  the Internal Regulation
• Election of the Management Committee for 2004-2005

• Action plan for 2004-2005
• Encourage every country to adopt a legislation
  on GIs
• Increase the number of countries in favour of
  better GI protection
• Keep a constant contact with decision-makers in
  order to keep GIs as a priority in the
  international negotiations
• Enforce GI protection via legal cases
• Continue to promote the concept of GIs

OriGIn members agreed on a common strategy to
secure better GI protection
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Activities in 2004

• OriGIn The voice of GI producers worldwide
• Actions to call for better GI protection at all
  levels
• Permanent observer status granted by WIPO
• Dialogue with decision makers increasing
  visibility and goals
• Participation in various conferences and
  seminars

• Symposium on geographical indications, Cambremer
  - France, May 1st
• Les Assises de lOrigine. Bordeaux - France, May
  13-14
• Joint EU-China Conference on the protection of
  GIs. Beijing China, July 6-7
• Terra Madre A world meeting of food
  communities organized by Slow Food. Torino
  Italy, October 20-23
• Africa Regional Seminar on Intellectual Property
  - Protection for Geographical Indications.
  Mombassa - Kenya, December 14-15
• Others

• Promoting GIs as a development tool
• Research on the positive impact of Gis on local
  communities
• Promotion activities in fairs

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Activities in 2004

• Sharing experience and expertise on GIs
• Partnerships between OriGIn members (Argan Oil
  French Comté, Guatemala Antigua Coffee Pruneaux
  dAgen, Guinean pinapples Swiss Etivaz cheese)
• Technical assistance to members
• Communication tools (website, newsletter,
  position pqpers, press contacts)
• Calling for better GI protection
• Actions against abuses (MERCOSUR, Canada, USA,
  Mexico, Autralia, New Zeland)
• Actions towards WTO and its members (meeting
  with WTO officials Decision 1st of August)
• Actions towards WIPO / Codex Alimentarius
  (Opposition
• on the establishment of a standard for Parmesan
  cheese)
• Actions towards national authorities

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May 2004 WTO Round table on GIs
OriGIn hosted a roundtable in the framework of
the 2004 World Trade Organisation (WTO) Public
Symposium on May 2004. The topic was
Localisation within Globalisation Better
Protecting Geographical Indications to favour
Sustainable Development
Speakers coming from China, France, Italy, India,
Kenya, Morocco and the USA, stressed the positive
contribution of geographical indications (GIs) to
sustainable development and urged WTO Members to
agree on the enhancement of GI protection in the
context of the Doha Development Round.
OriGIn members called for better GI protection as
a priority of the Doha negotiations and a
necessary part of any future WTO agreement
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Activities in 2005

• OriGIn Key actor on the GI debate
• Participation in various conferences and
  seminars

• FAO Workshop on  Designing Training Programs for
  the Development of Quality Mountain Products ,
  Rome - Italy. January 24 25.
• WIPO working seminar on GIs in Casablanca -
  Morocco. April 7-8.
• Seminar on GIs organized by ECAP II. Bangkok,
  April 27-28.
• Conference on GIs and Sustainable Rural
  Development Exploring the Connections in S.
  Louis, Missouri (USA). May 16-18.
• WIPO Biannual Symposium in Parma (Italy), June
  27-29
• Convegno on Geographical Indications, organized
  by the Italian Ministry of Agriculture. Rome,
  October 18
• European Community/EUCTP/AQSIQ Road Show in China
  (Xian Hangzhou). November 7-11
• Small Project Fund Seminar in China (Hangzhou
  Beijing), November16 17.
• Round Table on GIs. Ulan Bator (Mongolia),
  November 17
• Others

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Activities in 2005

• Technical assistance
• Meeting and lobbying decision makers ( WTO, WIPO,
  European Commission, ICTSD, FAO, WHO)
• Actions against abuses (Reports on abuses in
  Canada and MERCOSUR)
• Continuing research on positive impact of GIs on
  local communities
• Promotion of GIs as a development tool
• Research of positive impact of GIs on
• local communities
• Promotion activities in fairs
• New website
• New partnership opportunities in Thailand and
  China

OriGIn members meet today in Hangzhou, China
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Thank you
www.origin-gi.com
info_at_origin-gi.com