Indications of source and Appellations of origin
by admin-mr-hamza

Hamza Law Firm assists you in all the administrative procedures of protection of products by Appellations of Origin, Geographical Indication or Indication of Source and initiates the procedures relating to the fight against counterfeiting.

provenance Tunisie

Quality labels linked to geographical origin, namely the protected designation of origin/controlled designation of origin (AOC) or geographical indication (GI) or indication of source (IS), make it link a quality product to its place of production, to protect the reputation of its producer and to identify it on the market by obtaining an added value.

Geographical Indication

The Geographical Indication refers to the name used to identify a product as originating in a territory, region or locality, where a quality, a reputation or any other specific characteristic of that product can be attributed essentially this geographical origin, and that the production and / or processing and / or preparation-developmenttake place in the defined geographical area (TRIPs).

Denomination of origin/Designation of Origin

The Denomination of origin/Designation of Origin is the geographical name of a region, a specific place or, in exceptional cases, a country, used to designate a product that originates from it, and whose quality, reputation or the other characteristics are due exclusively or mainly to the geographical environment, including human factors and natural factors, and which’s production, processing and development/preparation take place in the defined geographical area (Lisbon Agreement).

Each quality sign linked to the origin of a product represents a collective intellectual property right reserved to the producers concerned and respecting the conditions of the recognized specifications. Conditions of recognition, protection and control procedures are established for AO, GI and IP to highlight the specificities of artisanal and agricultural production.

Within the framework of the protection of localand tradition products, we provide to our customers the following services:

  • Advise on legal issues relating to distinctive signs related to the origin of products and other specific quality labels.
  • Assistance in the AO procedures and indication of source and in particular the registration procedures to benefit from intellectual property rights on the basis of the regulations in force.
  • Assistancein the drafting of the specifications for the qualification of the product and the creation of a designation of origin or an indication of source.
  • Filing of the application and follow-up of the examination of the file and the technical control procedures by the competent authorities.
  • Assistance against counterfeiting, following the search of stores and warehouses for merchandise put on sale under the title of controlled designations of origin or indications of source not originating from the geographical area of the appellation or the indication, or failing to comply with the technical production conditions laid down in the specifications.
  • Initiation and follow-up of legal proceedings relating to fraud in the trade of counterfeit goods and falsifications of foodstuffs or agricultural or natural products contravening the provisions of the regulations relating to appellations of origin and indications of source , the organization of distributive trade and that relating to the protection of the consumer.