Jamaica to provide more investor protection

Tuesday, January 20, 2004

KINGSTON, Jamaica: The Jamaican House of Representatives last week approved a Bill to make provision for the Protection of Geographical Indications, to help to further demonstrate that the Government of Jamaica is serious about implementing measures that will seek to protect national and international companies that invest or wish to invest in Jamaica. 

Minister of Commerce, Science and Technology, Phillip Paulwell who piloted the Bill said that through this legislation Jamaica would be meeting its bilateral and multilateral obligations. 

He said Geographical Indications had in the past long been considered to be exclusively of interest to a few wine and cheese producing countries, in addition to having developed the reputation of being that area of Intellectual Property, which was rarely understood and was thus dominated by a few specialists. 

This view no longer held true in today's society, he pointed out, due mainly to the coming into force of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement) (1994) under which part II, Section 3, contains obligations for World Trade Organisation (WTO) members with regards to the protection of Geographical Indications, and provided for certain exceptions to those obligations. As a party to the Paris Convention and a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Jamaica is obliged to implement laws for the protection of Geographical Indications.

A Geographical Indication is a sign used in connection with goods in order to indicate their geographical origin. However, because Geographical Indications are usually protected on the national and regional levels under a wide range of different principles, this has led to a variety of concepts and terminology in this area. 

Mr. Paulwell said the significance of Geographical Indications was evident as they provided information about the name of a product; the geographical origin of the product; and a given quality, reputation or characteristics attributable to a geographical area. 

The use of a Geographical Indication allows the consumer to associate a name or other sign to directly unobservable attributes of a product, or to identify or purchase a product because of quality, reputation or other characteristics of the product, he further informed.

The Minister noted however, that although Geographical Indications and Trade Marks performed similar functions, they had important differences. While a Geographical Indication identifies a geographical area where one or several enterprises are located to produce the product for which the Geographical Indication is used, a Trade Mark identifies the enterprise that offers certain products or services to the market.

"It is important to observe that a basic feature of a Geographical Indication is that each and every producer which is located in the area to which the Geographical Indication refers, has the right to use the said indication for the products originating in the said area, generally subject to compliance with certain quality and other requirements," he informed. 

Geographical Indications also play an important role in commercial relations both at the national and international level, Mr. Paulwell said, adding that the wrongful use of a Geographical Indication was contrary to honest practices in industry and commerce, and was misleading for purchasers of goods for which the indications were used. 

  Back...

  Most popular articles: viewed, printed and e-mailed

  Printable version