Non-compliant listings will be deleted! Amazon has included geographical indications in its intellectual property policy

With the development of economy, more and more people begin to pay attention to intellectual property rights, and geographical indications, as an important part of intellectual property rights, are also gaining more and more attention . Recently, Amazon Europe issued an announcement to include geographical indications (GI) in its intellectual property policy .

The announcement shows that starting from September 8, 2021, Amazon's intellectual property policy will include geographical indications . This means that when the policy takes effect, if sellers abuse geographical indications without authorization and mislead consumers, they will be judged as infringing by Amazon and their listings may be deleted.

Let's take a classic example to illustrate the issue of geographical indication infringement: internationally , the word "champagne" is recognized as sparkling wine produced in the Champagne region of France that meets a series of special standards. Therefore, except for the Champagne region of France, sparkling wine produced anywhere in the world cannot be called "champagne " , otherwise it will constitute counterfeiting infringement .

It is reported that geographical indication products refer to products produced in a specific region and named after a geographical name after being approved by the state. This means that geographical trademarks cannot be applied for by individuals or companies , but can only be applied for by local government departments and industry associations , and then authorized to sellers for use, thus effectively preventing the emergence of counterfeit and shoddy products.

In addition, products bearing this logo can not only serve as local specialty products and drive the development of the local economy, but are also more likely to gain the trust of consumers because their quality, reputation or other characteristics essentially depend on the natural environment and human factors of the place of origin.

Currently, the list of geographical indication (GI ) products included in Amazon is mainly based on Article 103, paragraph 2 of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 issued by the European Union on December 17, 2013 .

It is worth noting that every time Amazon releases a policy, it will receive heated discussions among sellers, and this time is no exception.

Seller A: I was hoping you could give an example or two instead of using dry jargon.

Seller B: According to the announcements on the official websites of the EU and the UK, this only applies to food and beverages, etc.

Seller C: Even after Brexit, British sellers still need to comply with this policy released by Amazon Europe.

Nowadays, Amazon attaches more and more importance to the protection of intellectual property rights. The inclusion of geographical indications in intellectual property policies is a good proof of this. We hope that sellers can strictly abide by platform policies, operate in compliance with regulations, and resolutely prevent infringement incidents in their future operations.

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