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Geographical Indication in Trademarks in Intellectual Property law

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Parmigiano Reggiano is named after the provinces of Parma and Reggio Emilia, where the cheese has been made since the 13th century. The name is legally protected in the European Union and can be used only for cheese produced in Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Bologna to the left of the river Reno, and Mantua to the right of the river Po. A New Zealand competitor lost in his attempt to use the same name to describe his cheese product from NZ though parmesan cheese. Inspite of arguing that the words “Parmigiano Reggiano” was not a literal translation of the word “parmesan” (which is what they had wanted to use ie merely descriptive) Geographical Indication trumps under Singapore law, giving weight to trade related aspects of international rules in disallowing “parmesan” as a descriptive generic term for the NZ cheese products.

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