In the afternoon of October 28, the Ministry of Science and Technology announced that the device of a crane with the words “VIET NAM GI” on a yellow background and with a red border became the logo of the national geographical indication.

The National Geographical Indication is the tool for product traceability, improvement of management processes, product quality control, promotion and introduction of the geographical indication (hereinafter abbreviated as GIs) to consumers.

The Deputy Minister of Science and Technology, Nguyen Hoang Giang stated at the announcement ceremony that the national geographical indication logo will assist importers and consumers in locating products that represent Vietnam. The National Geographical Indication makes the community secure about the origin and quality of products, enables management organizations to control over the quantity of products supplied on the market and helps the IPRs enforcement agencies to easily detect infringements of GIs.

 “The logo of Vietnam’s national geographical indication will become an important sign that  supports agencies and organizations promoting and introducing products to the market, especially foreign markets, and strengthens the competitive ability of products bearing geographical indications,” said Deputy Minister Giang.

Mr. Dinh Huu Phi, Director of the Intellectual Property Office of Vietnam (hereinafter abbreviated as IPVN) also said that, as the matter of fact, the protected geographical indications have proven their important roles in developing agricultural and rural, conserving traditional cultural values and biodiversity, promoting the development of production and trade activities and increasing the added value of agricultural products.

Vietnam currently has 108 GIs, with fruit (47%), industrial plants and forestry (24%), rice (11%) and other fields as the remainder. Some GIs are well known, such as Ngoc Linh ginseng (Kon Tum and Quang Nam), Phu Quoc fish sauce (Kien Giang), Doan Hung pomelo (Phu Tho), Hoa Loc mango (Tien Giang).

For large agricultural import markets and competitive markets, Vietnam is promoting the registration of GIs to protect businesses and goods.

According to the IPVN, GIs have an impact on the commercial value of products. The selling price of products that have been GI-protected tends to be increased. As examples, the price of Cao Phong orange is nearly doubled, Meo Vac mint honey increased to 75-80%, Phu Quoc fish sauce increased to 30-50%, Dai Hoang king banana increased to 130-150% and Luan Van pomelo (Thanh Hoa) increased up to 3.5 times, etc.

Mr. Bui Kim Dong, Senior Researcher at the Center for Agrarian Systems Research and Development said that the enterprises, cooperatives and associations who want to protect national geographical indications for their products must comply with registration procedures of IPVN. The grantee must obtain the quality and origin certificates from Independent Organizations. The IPVN accordingly will examine and grant permission to the use of the national geographical indication logo.

The Ministry of Science and Technology approved the project “Designing the National Geographical Indication Logo” in May 2020, with funding from the Korean Intellectual Property Office, to meet the demand for a general sign that can be used for products bearing geographical indications protected in Vietnam.

A GI is a sign that indicates the origin of a product, in a specific region, locality, territory or country.

Geographical conditions that influence the reputation, characteristics, and specific quality of products bearing a GI, include: natural factors (climate, hydrology, geology, topography, ecosystems, and other natural conditions); human factors (skills, techniques of producers, traditional local production processes, etc.).

SOURCE: vnexpress.net

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