Source: https://researchers.adelaide.edu.au/profile/paula.zito
Timestamp: 2019-04-21 22:34:41+00:00

Document:
Many food producers and traders use Australian regional names on food products (Regional Branding) to respond to current consumer preferences for 'local' and 'authentic' foods. There is value in Regional Branding, because it not only indicates the food product's geographical origin, but also infuses food products with certain qualities and characteristics that can be tied back to the region named in the Regional Branding. Many consumers assume that food products that include Regional Branding will have certain qualities and characteristics, such as that the food product is made using locally sourced ingredients and that it is made within the region. They might even expect that the food product has been made using local processes, methods and traditions unique to that region. Consumers respond positively to food products that are branded with Barossa or Barossa Valley, because they are aware of the reputation that the Barossa has for producing quality food products. However, in many circumstances, food products that are branded with Barossa or Barossa Valley have a very weak connection with the Barossa or no connection at all. Notwithstanding this lack of connection, many food producers take advantage of the reputation that the region has for producing quality and authentic regional food products, and the value that accordingly exists in the region's name, to respond to consumer preferences for local and authentic food products.
trade mark laws under the Trade Marks Act 1995 (Cth).
These laws and regulations have various deficiencies that mean food producers can use Regional Branding on food labels to make origin claims on food products that lack any clear or strong connection with the region claimed. In doing so, many food producers and traders take advantage of, and free-ride on, the reputation that Australian regions have for producing quality regional food and the value that accordingly exists in the relevant Australian regional names.
My research explores the worth of using food Geographical Indications (GIs) on food products to make an origin claim in the context of a sui generis food GI system. A sui generis food GI system is a legal framework dedicated to regulating that a connection between food product and place exists before Regional Branding (in the form of a food GI) can be used on a food label. In my research I assess the value of using a sui generis food GI system to protect the connection between Australian regional food and origin and to protect the assets that Australia has in Australian regional names as identifiers of authentic regional food products that have a clear and strong connection with Australian regions. I make this assessment against a background of significant and original fieldwork carried out in Italy and South Australia.
I recommend in my research that a sui generis food GI system is crucial for Australia to ensure adequate regulation and protection of the connection between Australian regional food and origin nationally and internationally. By drawing on the observations that I made during the Italian and South Australian fieldwork, I recommend and explain the key elements that are required for a successful Australian sui generis food GI system. I explain these with a view to assisting Australian government and Australian regional food producers and the broader Australian food, agrifood and agricultural industries, to design a sui generis food GI system that takes into consideration GI-related issues relevant to Australia at both a national and international level.
2019 Zito, P. C. (2019). Australian Laws and Regulations on Regional Branding on Food and Wine Labels: Part 1. Australian Intellectual Property Journal, 29(2), 67-90.
2019 Zito, P. C. (2019). Australian Laws and Regulations on Regional Branding on Food and Wine Labels: Part 2. Australian Intellectual Property Journal, 29(3), 127-177.
2018 Zito, P. C. (2018). Geographical Indications: What is Their Worth? A Comparison of Geographical Indication Registrations Between Australia and Italy. (PhD Thesis, The University of Adelaide).

References: sui generis
sui generis
sui generis
sui generis
sui generis
sui generis