“Geographical indications are the names or signs that indicate a product which has become identical with a locality, area, region, or nation it originally resides in, in terms of a distinctive feature, title and other qualities. Geographical indication application is an application made for the registration of names or markers indicating a product identified with a nation or a region, in order to be protected.”
The geographical indication application process is the first step for registering a geographical indication. Documents that introduce the product which is subject to geographical indication and explain the technical qualities of this product are evaluated in terms of the conditions for registration in accordance with the relevant Turkish legal regulations in Turkey. You can take your first step by applying to our company, Sistem Patent, for the registration of geographical indications.
In order for a product to be protected by geographical indication application, this product must be included in one of the following product groups:
- Metals,
- Natural products,
- Agricultural products,
- Industrial products,
- Handicrafts and handmade products.
Reasons to Apply for Geographical Indication Registration
Registration of Geographical Indications takes place for two reasons:
- Protecting the quality of the product that is subject to geographical indication and ensuring production in a known quality.
- For the people producing in the area or in the quality that is subject to geographical indication to benefit primarily from the protection they obtain through the registration process.
The consumer segment may prefer products offered for sale with the name of a specific region to those produced in other regions, due to the trust they have for the name of that specific region. For this reason, protecting the names of places that have become a definite quality indicator for a product by registering them as geographical indications is very useful in protecting the interests of the people live in that region. Geographical indications give potential marketing power to the product and provide economic progress in a regional or social sense with the anonymous ownership qualification it receives from its nature. These are vehicles that are of particular importance in terms of rural development. Benefits of protecting the geographical indications include preventing geographical indications from being placed on counterfeit goods that do not have the necessary features and preventing the consumer from making mistakes, thus protecting the consumer segment.
Signs that Cannot Be Applied for Geographical Indication in Turkey:
- Names and signs that do not conform to the geographical indication definition,
- Names and signs that the have become the product’s own name,
- Varieties of plants, animal breeds or similar names that will cause the society to be mistaken for the original source of the product,
- Signs that are inappropriate for public order and general morality,
- Names and signs that are protected by states that are parties to the Paris Convention and the World Trade Organization Convention or names and marks with expired protection periods or that are out of activity.
The geographical indication registration procedures, which ensure that the indication is protected by the registration process and used primarily by the producers, and that the quality of the product using the geographical indication is protected and thus the consumer's preferences are guaranteed, are carried out by Sistem Patent in the eye of the Institute. Real persons or legal entities that are engaged in the production of products using geographical indicatons, and consumer associations and public entities related to the geographical area are entitled to apply for registration.