Geographical Indication in Brazil: Jan-June 2019

The latest news re. GI in Brazil relates to the granting of a GI in the form of Indicação de Procedência to a national product. In May, the Brazilian Instituto Nacional da Propriedade industrial (INPI) registered the name ‘Coffea arábica do Oeste da Bahia’ for coffee coming from the municipalities of Formosa do Rio Preto, Santa Rita de Cássia, Riachão das Neves, Barreiras, Luís Eduardo Magalhães, São Desidério, Catolândia, Baianópolis, Correntina, Jaborandi e Cocos. The GI was granted to the Associação dos Cafeicultores do Oeste da Bahia who will be administering the GI.

In February, INPI granted a GI in the form of Denomination of Origin to the Consejo Regulador del Tequila A.C. to ‘tequila’. The application was submitted back in August 2008 and was finally granted this year – published at the Revista da Propriedade Industrial (RPI) nº 2510.

Before this, in January INPI granted a GI in the form of Indication of Source (Indicação de Procedência) to the national Associação Cultural e Fomento Agrícola de Tomé-Açu (ACTA) for ‘Cacau de Tomé-Açu’ (cocoa).

Brazil recognizes Geographical Indication in the form of Denomination of Origin and Indication of Source. A GI aims to delimit a geographical area’s name to the producers, providers of a particular product/service. In the case of DO, it refers to a country region, city whose products or services have certain features given by its geographical environment including natural and human factors. An Indication of Source refers to the name of a country, region, city whose products or services have certain features given by its geographical environment (no natural/human factor needed).

Finally, in March the Normative Instruction No. 095 (published in the Magazine of Industrial Property (RPI) nº 2504) was in force. The Normative establishes the conditions for the registration of Geographical Indications replacing Normative Instruction No. 25, 2013. Among the new conditions one can observe that the ‘Regulamento de Uso’ (Use Regulation) is now called Technical Specifications; there is now the possibility to change a GI already registered to, include or suppress the name of the product or service and; it is possible to change the GI’s graphic/figurative representation.