WTO Public Symposium

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WTO Public Symposium The TRIPS Agreement Ten
Years Later The Relationship Between Trademarks
and GIsPresentation by Clay Hough Senior Vice
President and General Counsel International Dairy
Foods Association April 22, 2005
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What is the International Dairy Foods Association?

• IDFA is the U.S. dairy processors collective
  voice in Washington, D.C., throughout the country
  and in the international arena.
• Members range from large multinational
  corporations to single plant operations, and
  represent more than 85 of the total volume of
  milk, cultured products, cheese, and ice cream
  and frozen desserts produced in the United
  States.
• IDFA members market approximately 80 percent of
  the cheese products sold in the United States.

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Extending protection of Geographic Indications
(GIs)

• IDFA is concerned about
• Extension of protection of GIs.
• Restriction of terms (claw back) that are in
  some cases deemed generic for foods.
• The establishment of a multilateral register for
  wines and spirits and possible implications for
  food products.

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EUs Wish List

• In September 2003, during the Fifth Ministerial
• meeting in Cancun, Mexico, the EU presented
• a list of the following GIs to the WTO
• Asiago
• Feta
• Fontina
• Gorgonzola
• Grana Padano
• Manchego
• Mozzarella di Bufala Campagna
• Parmiggiano Reggiano
• Pecorino Romano
• Reblochon
• Roquefort

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Why are GIs a concern ?

• The current EU internal GI system protects
• - 2,100 types of wines and spirits
• - 600 foods, including 149 cheeses
• - 63 meat-based products
• - 16 types of table olives

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The Problem with the EU GI System ?

• The current EUs GI system
• - inhibits U.S. feta and parmesan manufacturers
  to export their cheese to EU.
• In Europe, Kraft cannot sell Parmesan instead
  it sells Pamesello.

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A faulty EU GI System

• The EU has problems enforcing its own GI system
• Germany is Europe's leading producer of Parmesan
  after Italy.
• The largest producer of Feta is not a Greek
  company. The Danes manufacture most of the Feta
  in the EU.
• Imagine enforcing and monitoring the use of GI
  terms.

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Why are GIs a Concern?

• Restrict use of commonly known product names in
  domestic market.
• Result is reduced choice and consumer confusion
  as known products are withdrawn from the market.
• Impact on exports to other WTO Member countries.

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Why are GIs a concern?

• If WTO Members accept the GI registration
• system
• - IDFA members companies would lose
• access to established product names.
• - Consumers would have to be convinced that
• the new product is the same quality as the
• cheese that they have been buying for decades.
• Millions of dollars in packaging costs and
• marketing to preserve and regain sales.

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Generic cheeses

• IDFA members companies are some of the Worlds
  largest producers of Mozzarella and Parmesan.
• Leprino started manufacturing Mozzarella in 1950.
• Kraft has been producing and marketing -
  Parmesan cheese for more than six decades, and
• - Feta cheese for twenty years.

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Potential GI ImpactOn IDFA Members

• Cheese of Companies
• - Asiago 24
• - Blue Cheese/Gorgonzola 22
• - Cream Cheese/Neufchatel 29
• - Feta 29
• - Fontina 12
• - Harvati 19
• - Mascarpone 8
• - Mozzarella 72
• - Parmesan 43
• - Provolone 39
• - Romano 27
• - Swiss/Emmental 34

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Potential GI impact

• In 2002, the U.S. cheese industry was valued
• 13.7 billion (at wholesale).
• The amount of cheese produced in U.S. in 2003
• 2.806 billion lbs of Mozzarella
• 676 million lbs of Cream Cheese/Neufchatel
• 283 million lbs of Provolone
• 264 million lbs of Swiss (Emmental)
• 127 million lbs of Parmesan

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GI solution

• Key question is not whether to protect
  geographical indications but how to protect them.
• U.S. trademark system provides for the
  registration of certification marks, including
  indications of regional origin.
• The following are all examples of GIs protected
  in the U.S. under the trademark system
• - Parmigiano-Reggiano
• - Roquefort
• - Parma Ham
• - Stilton