Publication of the week: Dr Patricia Covarrubia

Patricia Covarrubia, “Protection of non-agricultural GIs: a window on what is happening in Latin America”, European Intellectual Property Review, E.I.P.R. 2016, 38(3), 129-131.

This piece examines “the laws in South American states on the protection of geographical indications (GIs) relating to non-agricultural products, including textiles and craft works. Presents data on the number of such GIs that are registered proportional to the agricultural product GIs. Considers why these states extend GI protection to non-agricultural products. Notes that a proposal to do likewise is under consideration in the EU.”

Dr Covarrubia compares different national legislations in Latin American countries as well as observing the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights 1994 (TRIPS, WTO) and the Lisbon Agreement for the protection of appellation of origin and their international registration (WIPO).

The full text of the article is available on University computers via Westlaw.

Dr Patricia Covarrubia is Lecturer in Law at The University of Buckingham and manager / blogger in IP Tango (Intellectual Property weblog – Latin America). Dr Covarrubia is also an IP consultant for the Latin American IPR SME Helpdesk, a project co-founded by the EU. Her research interests include geographical indications and indications of origin, compulsory licences in the pharmaceutical industry, domain names, and the protection of traditional knowledge. She is the author of Chemical Sense Marks: Frequent concerns when applying for trade mark registration at the OHIM (Saarbrücken: VDM Publishing, 2011).