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The EU’s disputed system of geographical indications is taking over the planet (2017)

politico.eu

101–110 of 265 posts

Re: The EU’s disputed system of geographical indications is taking over the planet (2017)

#101
post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure, it's also their choice. I wouldn't buy Nike trainers or Levi jeans, but I'm sure some people do, and by taking away that choice you are stealing from them.

What choice am I taking away from them?

The choice of where to spend their money - if they choose to spend it with Adidas, despite you and me thinking the product is terrible, and a far cheaper copy is better - that's their choice. By preventing them from knowing where the money is going, you are harming the consumer.

This is different to copyright or patents where the consumer is prevented from buying the alternative.

Re: The EU’s disputed system of geographical indications is taking over the planet (2017)

#102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just put where it's manufactured on the label - that's really all that matters.

That is literally what Champagne is: the name of a place in France. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Champagne_(province)

That's disingenuous. If I buy a wine labelled "Champagne" I expect a dry sparkling wine, not a random red wine from a certain region in France. It is used to indicate product type, not origin.

Re: The EU’s disputed system of geographical indications is taking over the planet (2017)

#103
post #9

> The wording is strange, it looks like they say that it is wrong to say that it is inauthentic. But, there is no doubt, if you buy Greek feta that is manufactured in Australia in addition with different recipes and ingredients origins, it is clearly inauthentic and deceptive.

The notion of "authentic" food is a manufactured marketing gimmick. There is always variation present, even from household to household, but for marketing purposes we now like to pretend that some particular food is always prepared exactly in this one way, with no room for deviation at all. This is nonsense.

Re: The EU’s disputed system of geographical indications is taking over the planet (2017)

#104
post #76

>"The Old World supplied the immigrants. It seems to be very weird that you’re saying that people can’t take culture with them," You can take the culture, not the terroir , that's the point. Actual buffalo mozzarella from Campania, to take something that would be familiar to an English-speaking audience, just tastes different. Using the same process isn't enough . And that's assuming the culture survives untouched, w…

I find it hard to believe we can’t figure out why it tastes different.

Re: The EU’s disputed system of geographical indications is taking over the planet (2017)

#105
post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Then you should be allowed to apply the Nike brand to them. Producers' interests don't matter. They only exist to serve the customer.

Which is why the Nike brand shouldn't be on them. As a consumer I want to know who made it. By all means sell the same shoes and call them "Victoria" or "Kratos" or something, and I might even buy them if I felt they were an appropriate value.

The packaging should make clear that these Nike shoes aren't made by Nike. But there is no reason to restrict what the shoes themselves look like. At most, a label on the soles would be reasonable so second hand buyers can identify who made their shoes.

Re: The EU’s disputed system of geographical indications is taking over the planet (2017)

#106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It seems more genuine to have it remain a business/industry and not a museum. I quite like having genuine Parmesan from the right place. I’m happy to see any amount of ham fisted protectionism to keep it that way too. So to me it’s an easy win.

So all you have to do is look at where it where it was made on the label -- is that too difficult?

> So all you have to do is look at where it where it was made on the label -- is that too difficult?

Apparently yes. Otherwise why would anyone insist on this?

I’m also not at all against seeing the entire new world having to eat “Parmesan style cheese” just to reinforce my own feeling of old-world superiority (I’m half joking, but you get the point of why this may be a thing)

Re: The EU’s disputed system of geographical indications is taking over the planet (2017)

#107
post #75

I'm from Moldova, and Moldovan alcohol producers were hit by this. Since the Soviet times lots of things like cognac, champagne, cahors, port wine and so on were produced in Moldova often using traditional recipes. And then association with EU happened. Ooops, can't use those names anymore, you must devise new names for what is essentially the same exact product.

And the far east is also full of knock-off products, what's your point? Nobody is stopping Moldovan alcohol producers from making sparkling or fortified wines, they just can't pretend its something else in the hopes of conning the consumer.

See about cognac: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27651984

And no. As was discussed elsewhere in the comments this has nothing to do with "knock-off products"

Re: The EU’s disputed system of geographical indications is taking over the planet (2017)

#108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The argument is that the details matter. Slightly different breeds of animal, different weather conditions, or different bacterial ecosystems affect the resulting cheese. You can make something similar to these products elsewhere, but it won't be exactly the same. Some products are famous and specific enough that customers have a right to be able to know when it's the real deal (and there are many such customers - ot…

I always feel these arguments are a bit disingenuous. You would be extremely hard-pressed to tell "authentic" Feta cheese apart from "Feta-like" cheese produced in any number of places around the world. These laws are not about protecting the consumer from inauthentic products. They're about protecting producers from competition. Exclusive ownership of famous culinary names like "Feta" and "Champagne" is valuable, an…

I’ve never tried American-made “feta”, but I have tried American-made “cheddar”, and it’s so far from the real stuff it’s closer to “vegan cheese”.

If this is due to generally lower standards, or actually because of the differences in milk and/or bacterial cultures, I couldn’t possibly comment. But it is noticeable.

Re: The EU’s disputed system of geographical indications is taking over the planet (2017)

#109
post #9

> The wording is strange, it looks like they say that it is wrong to say that it is inauthentic. But, there is no doubt, if you buy Greek feta that is manufactured in Australia in addition with different recipes and ingredients origins, it is clearly inauthentic and deceptive.

Geographic indications is far less intrusive and far less monopolistic than a trademark is.

If I make a search engine the exact same way Google does, I cannot call my search engine Google. Neither in America, nor in Europe or in Asia, or even Africa or South America. And this brand is not even 30 years old. One single company, Google, has trademarked the brand for relatively little money on the entire planet, and it serves a very limited group of billionaires and relatively few employees.

A geographical indication, on the other hand, serves not just one company but typically hundreds or thousands or even ten thousands of independent companies with up to hundreds of thousands employed. If I want to sell wine as Bordeaux wine, all I have to do is to have a vineyard in Bordeaux and live up to the requirements that the other Bordeaux vineyards also comply with.

Note, that Google is free to keep its trademark although it changes its services to the detriment of consumers. Meaning, it maintains the trademark that all governments of the world are paid peanuts to protect on its behalf and can continue to lure consumers to believe that it is still the same service, for example still not "doing evil". But if I change my Bordeaux wine, for example if I change the blend to include grapes that are not part of the approved Bordeaux grapes, I cannot keep the geographical indication.

I am not saying trademarks should not exist or that companies with government protected trademarks should be forced not to change their products or services. But I think it's important to remember that the trademark is often sells a lie about what a company used to be. And I think the protection of trademarks should be linked to taxes paid in the geographic markets where the trademarks apply. Please note that geographic indication as a type of intellectual property right that applies to producers of products typically leaves more revenue and taxes in the countries where they are consumed.

It is in many ways a more modern, inclusive and fair IPR.

Re: The EU’s disputed system of geographical indications is taking over the planet (2017)

#110
post #104
post #76

>"The Old World supplied the immigrants. It seems to be very weird that you’re saying that people can’t take culture with them," You can take the culture, not the terroir , that's the point. Actual buffalo mozzarella from Campania, to take something that would be familiar to an English-speaking audience, just tastes different. Using the same process isn't enough . And that's assuming the culture survives untouched, w…

I find it hard to believe we can’t figure out why it tastes different.

We mostly know what makes it taste different. The problem is, most of it is expensive and time consuming. People would like to take cheaper approaches and market as the same thing.

The terroir aspect is often overblown but does contribute. Far more often the issues is something like "milk is milk, right?" which just isn't true.

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