This book explores the potential benefits and disadvantages of geographical indication (GIs) registration schemes, analyzing the utility of GI registrations for the development and promotion of regional economies, both in national and international markets. The book draws on the van Caenegem, Cleary & Drahos Australian Provenance Report, along with the valuable empirical data collected in connection with it.
The book situates the rural development question in an international context, presenting several case studies from Italy, France and Morocco, New Zealand and Australia. The book contains various chapters focused on comparing regulatory structures in various relevant jurisdictions and drawing on other countries’ experiences. It contains significant contributions from industry actors with extensive experience in regional branding initiatives and GI-related policy issues.
Progressive in structure, the book starts from the ‘big picture’ level before moving down to the local and concrete scale. Geographical indications of Australian products are vital both in domestic and overseas markets by accurately representing the origin and quality of niche agricultural products. Thus, with a particular focus on Australia, the book promotes the assessment of geographical indications as potential regional assets that will help producers develop local quality indicators that will serve as public goods for successive generations of producers.
William van Caenegem is a Professor of Law at the Faculty of Law, Bond University. He specializes in intellectual property law and comparative law. William wrote some of the first articles in Australia concerning the legal protection of geographical indications of origin, in the context of the WTO/TRIPS negotiations on the subject. He is a co-author with Jen Cleary and Peter Drahos of the RIRDC Report ‘Provenance of Australian food products: is there a place for Geographical Indications?’ (2015) and with Jen Cleary, Madeline Taylor and Brenda Marshall of the RIRDC Report ‘Collective Bargaining in the Agricultural Sector’ (2015). He has published on many areas of intellectual property law, including IP and innovation and also IP and the protection of commercial reputation.
Jen Cleary is a human geographer with research interests in regional development and agricultural value chain analysis. Jen is based within the Centre for Global Food Studies at the University of Adelaide, and holds an honorary position as Adjunct Associate Professor at the Institute for Governance and Policy Analysis at the University of Canberra. Jen has served as Chair of Regional Development Australia, Far North (RDAFN) from 2009–14 and was appointed in 2015 as Chair of the RDA National Reference Group, established by former Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss. In 2013 Jen joined the National Steering Committee of SEGRA (Sustainable Economic Growth for Regional Australia), a national, independent body that fosters collaboration and formulates policy advice across rural, regional and remote Australia.
