Recently Established Registration Systems for Geographical Indications JAMAICA Loreen Walker Executive Director Jamaica Intellectual Property Office

The Island Of Jamaica

Things Jamaican Asafa Powell 9.77 sec.

The Protection of Geographical Indications Act, 2004.

General Features The wording of the Act closely mirrors section 3, articles of the TRIPS Agreement: A geographical indication is defined as “an indication which identifies a good as originating in the territory of a country, or a region or locality in that territory, where a given quality, reputation or other characteristic of the good is essentially attributable to its geographical origin.”

General Features (Cont’d) There are two levels of protection: –Lower level protection for indications other than those relating to wines and spirits where use which misleads the public as to the geographical origin of the good or unfair competition must be proved; –Higher level protection for indications relating to wines and spirits.

General Features (Cont’d) Trade marks applied for or registered in good faith or trade mark rights acquired through use in good faith before the coming into force of the Act or before the geographical indication is protected in its country of origin will not be prejudiced on the basis that the trade mark is identical with or similar to a geographical indication.

General Features (Cont’d) The Act preserves the continued and similar use in Jamaica of a geographical indication of a WTO members identifying wines or spirits in connection with goods or services produced by any citizen or resident of Jamaica who has used the indication continuously with regard to the same or related goods or services in Jamaica for at least 10 years preceding April 15, 1994 or in good faith preceding that date.

General Features (Cont’d) Excluded from protection are: –indications which in their country of origin are not or have ceased to be protected or have fallen into disuse; –indications contrary to public order or public morality; –indications which have become generic.

The Applicant The applicant can be any producer or group of producers carrying on an activity in the geographical area or a recognized organization. A producer is defined as: –a producer of agricultural products; –a person who exploits natural products; –a manufacturer of products of industry or handicraft; –a person who deals or trades in the above products.

The Application The application must be made to the Jamaica Intellectual Property Office, specifically, the Registrar of Industrial Property and must contain the following information: –name, address and nationality of the applicant; –the capacity in which the applicant is applying for registration; –the geographical indication for which registration is sought;

The Application (Cont’d) –the geographical area to which the geographical indication applies; –the good to which the geographical indication applies; –the quality, reputation or other characteristic of the good in relation to which the geographical indication is used.

Opposition An application accepted for registration is required to be published which provides an opportunity for persons having an interest in the geographical indication to object to its registration.

Registration The GI Act requires the Registrar to register all geographical indications which the Registrar is satisfied complies with the requirements of the GI Act and: –whose registration has not been opposed; or –where it has been opposed, the opposition has been resolved in favour of the applicant.

Cancellation The Act provides for the cancellation of registration on the ground that the geographical indication does not qualify or no longer qualifies for protection.

Right of Appeal There is a right of appeal against the decision of the Registrar of Industrial Property to a Judge of the Supreme Court sitting in Chambers.

Register The Act mandates that a “Register of Geographical Indications” be kept which must be open for inspection by the public. Any producer carrying on an activity in a geographical area specified in the Register has the right, in the course of trade, to use a registered geographical indication in relation to the goods so specified if those goods possess the quality, reputation or other characteristics specified in the Register.

Duration of Protection There is no time limit under the Act for the duration of the protection of the geographical indication.

Legal Remedies for Infringement Civil –injunction –damages –other appropriate remedies Criminal –Resident Magistrate’s Court Maximum fine of J$1 million (US$1 = J$60) or a maximum term of 12 months or both fine and imprisonment. –Circuit Court Fine or a maximum term of imprisonment of 5 years or both fine and imprisonment plus a pecuniary penalty where the person convicted derived a benefit from the commission of the offence.

Present Status of Registrations No registrations have yet been made as the regulations which will contain detailed procedures for registration and the fees have not yet been finalized. JIPO decided to hold consultations with stakeholders to determine in particular, the procedure with respect to certification of “quality, reputation or other characteristic of the good.” This process was seen to be absolutely necessary as Jamaica has no experience in registering indications of origin and therefore does not have the necessary infrastructure in place.

Present Status of Registrations (Cont’d) A number of goods have been identified for registration. JIPO is working with the producers of these goods to establish the necessary infrastructure. JIPO would like to thank ORIGIN Geneva for the help it has given to us so far.

Registrable Indications - Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee Is only grown in the beautiful Blue Mountains of Jamaica.

Registrable Indications - Jamaica Jerk Seasoning One of the main producers of this product is Walkerswood Caribbean Foods which is located in the Walkerswood Community in the parish of St, Ann, Jamaica. This product is owned by the community which provides most of the inputs.

Registrable Indications - Jamaica Rum One of the main producers is J Wray and Nephew Limited which produces Appleton Rum. The rum is made at the Appleton Estate which has been producing rum since The Appleton Estate is located in the community of Appleton in the parish of St. Elizabeth, Jamaica.

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