Geographical indications, trademarks and certification marks

Geographical indications, trademarks and certification marks

While both trademarks and geographical indications (GIs) convey information about the origin and reputation of goods, they are typically very different in that trademarks convey information about the company or undertaking that is responsible for the goods, whereas GIs identify their geographical origin (and carry information about the quality, reputation, or other characteristics associated with that origin).

Certain trademarks, known as certification (or guarantee) and collective marks, can and are used to protect GIs.

Simply put, both types of marks differ from individual trademarks that identify individual companies in that they can be used by a variety of producers who meet the agreed-upon requirements for the use of the mark in question.

While the right holder of a collective mark can use it, the right holder of a certification mark cannot, according to many laws, and is usually a certification agency whose function it is to certify the eligible products.