The present research work arose as a consequence of the lack of correlation between the magnificent climatic, environmental and cultural conditions that the Andean territories have, in front of the scarce legislative, economic and administrative development, in the matter of industrial property for the agricultural and artisan sector.
17 july 2020
Title: Challenges of the Andean Community in the field of Denominations of Origin: a vision from the Colombian perspective
Author: Leidy Carolina Pacheco Guevara (Colombia)
In fact, the Andean countries near the equator do not experience seasonal variations in climate, but on the contrary present continuous climatic conditions throughout the year, depending on the thermal floors. In addition, it is a region rich in water resources, all of which has allowed different tribes that were originally nomadic to settle in these territories, inheriting diverse cultures that are translated into a great variety of agricultural and artisanal products.
However, in spite of the existence of the legal figure of the Denominations of Origin to distinguish products closely linked to a particular territory, the norm currently in force dates from the year 2000, which places us in a propitious scenario to review it and establish if it really responds to the economic needs of the region and compare it with the most recent norms on the matter, in order to determine if it is necessary to update, modify or introduce some concepts, protections or procedures.
In that sense, the work consists of 4 blocks distributed as follows:
The first one constitutes an approach to what the legal figure of the Denominations of Origin is, how it was born, what functions it fulfils, how it differs from other distinctive signs and a mention is made of the normative sources that regulate the subject, from the international, passing through the regional, to the national and including an analysis of the different bilateral treaties in which the subject has been treated and an approach to the discussions of the Doha Round within the framework of the WTO.
In the second block, we focus on the Andean Community of Nations, referring to its history, the regulatory regime in force, and the more specific issues where discussions have taken place, such as reinforced protection for wines and spirits, ownership, requirements for its declaration, and the content of protection, authorisations for use, the inclusion of the figure for services and the mention of Guaranteed Traditional Specialities with the aim of proposing a type of sign different from the Appellations of Origin, when the link to the territory is diluted and a cultural tradition is evident in any case.
In the third block, we have brought the figure of the Appellations of Origin itself closer to specific cases, such as the Cangrejo Negro de Providencia and the Bocadillo Veleño, which were recognised after Andean Decision 689, which has given way to a national regulation of the current Andean regime, and that allow us to evidence the benefits of that regulation (such as the declaration procedure that includes the delegation of the power to authorise the use, the requirements and the consequences of the declaration), but also the shortcomings (such as the lack of administrative support to promote the AO, as well as the lack of education of the consumer with the objective of understanding if he is willing to pay more for a certified product).
Finally, in the fourth block we condense all the challenges that the Andean Community has in this matter, starting from the most important conclusion that we consider is the return to the normative regional unification and the harmony of concepts.
To this end, there is the difficulty of the bilateral treaties currently in force, which some Andean countries have signed, but which in any case do not prevent balanced points of agreement from being reached for each country, given that in any case they are within the frameworks set out by the WTO and WIPO.
However, in the legislative field, there is a need for regional regulation of procedures for 1) recognition of protection, 2) delegation of the power to authorise use, and 3) authorisation of use. It is also necessary to legislate on Regulatory Councils and Quality Regimes and to contemplate the creation of Traditional Specialties Guaranteed.
Similarly, it is considered that not only should these needs be met through legislation, but it is also necessary to address them from the administrative perspective in terms of consumer promotion and education, since there is no point in making efforts to develop the figure if it is not going to produce economic effects, which is its main raison d'être.
