Geographical indications in EU and key lessons for Korea

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to analyze how the treatment of GIs has been made by European countries and what Korea needs for future GIs development. Though the GIs are not only new emerging intellectual property for the deal trading card but also the method for economic value added products, the impact of Geographical Indications on the Korea economy has not yet been searched much. Therefore, this paper is to investigate GIs conception, functions with wide range benefits, existing legal means, historical development and GIs extension dispute of GIs in EU because GIs have been established and developed with European history and their experiences can be good guidelines for us. More importantly, case studies would highlight one or more important aspects of how GIs are interpreted and problems of which are solved in various conditions. And the current protection of GIs and barriers to GI system in Korea are also studied for the improvement for Korea GIs. The outcome of GIs superior quality may result either from natural geographic advantages such as climate and geology or from human capital in GIs manufacturing. Thus, the strategy to quantify the prospective competitive factors of GIs in Korea with should be focused on further with legal backing.