Scotch whisky inspires discussion of GI system
- By Wu Jin
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E-mail China.org.cn, March 5, 2015
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Huang Xiantao (R 1), Deputy Director of the China International Association for Urban and Rural Development of the State Council Development and Research Center speaks at the 9th China-UK Intellectual Property Salon jointly hosted by the British Embassy Beijing and China University of Politics Science and Law on Tuesday in Beijing. [by Wu Jin / China.org.cn] |
For about 100 years, genuine Scotch whisky represented by brands such as Johnnie Walker and Chivas Regal has prospered in nearly 200 markets, generating an export value equivalent to about 40 billion yuan (US$6.4 billion) a year.
Thanks to the Geographical Indication system, which takes many of the fake products and unfair competition out of the market, the strong and mellow taste of the liquor matured in the cold and damp air wafted above the Scottish highlands can be preserved in the modern economy, Lindesay Low, the legal advisor of the Scotch Whisky Association, said at a workshop jointly hosted by the British Embassy in Beijing and China University of Politics and Law on Tuesday in Beijing.
"On the positive side, GI is designed to stop people selling fake products," said Low, "(as) the Scotch whisky can only be made in Scotland."
The adoption of the GI system can be traced back to the late 19th century, when European countries used laws to protect products from certain origin against counterfeit products or products that were marketed using false statements.
The workshop, the 9th U.K.-China Intellectual Property Salon, allowed for an exchange of GI protection experience and views between China and the United Kingdom, a point that has not been touched upon at previous IP salons, said Tom Duke, IP attaché of the British Embassy in Beijing and the moderator of the workshop.
"I feel lucky to take the opportunity to share the experience with the Scottish expert on the protection of the Scotch whisky, of which the supreme quality is second probably to none in the world," said workshop panelist Li Zuming, director of the GI Research Center of China University of Political Science and Law.
According to Li, the provisions of the laws and regulations on Scotch whisky protected by Britain's GI system set forth very clear and specific stipulations for the manufacture of the products. Li asserted that Chinese regulators have lots to learn from these specifications.
In China, the management of the GI system falls under the authority of a trio of agencies, namely the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, the Ministry of Agriculture , and the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine. The registration of GI-protected products in China has been booming in recent years. The number of new cases is expected to hit 1,100 this year, compared to an average rate of 288.3 GI registrations annually from 1996 to 2013, revealed Huang Xiantao, panelist and deputy director of the China International Association for Urban and Rural Development at the State Council Development and Research Center.
Known as "local specialties" among most Chinese people, the GI system in China is still awaiting improvement. According to Huang, many GI products in supermarkets are less competitive if there is little differentiation between their prices and those of similar non-GI products. Meanwhile, similar products from regions in the vicinity make registration particularly difficult when only one product can be chosen as the "authentic" one. Counterfeiters may also easily find loopholes that allow their products to sneak into the market.
Specified legislation and preferential policies are needed to improve the GI system in China, while industrial associations should perform more significant roles than the administrative authorities in the market, said Li.
Low also echoed the two Chinese experts' opinions, saying "to make your GI in full value is to make your IP be enforced."
GI systems are different from collective trademarks, which are more flexible and less durable. GI experts in China hope to expand the country's GI system along with a multi-registration mechanism for a wider spectrum of industries, including handicrafts, jades, inkstones and teas in addition to alcoholic beverages.
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