The species oranges citrus sinensis of the seleta, natal Folha Murcha and Natal common varieties, produced within the limits of the municipalities of Itaboraí, Tanguá, Rio Bonito and Araruama, in a total area of about 8,525 square kilometers (km²), in the state of Rio de Janeiro, are the hundredth Indication Geographical (IG) recognized by the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI), a body linked to the Ministry of Economy.
The Geographical Indication (GI) registration is granted to products or services that are characteristic of their place of origin, which gives them reputation, intrinsic value and their own identity, in addition to distinguishing them from similar products available on the market. These are products that have a unique quality due to natural resources such as soil, vegetation, climate and know-how.
The Geographical Indication seal can contribute to adding value to products or services, as well as promoting local development. Coffees, cheeses and wines are among the various products and services protected by the IG.
Of the total of 100 GIs recognized by the INPI, 32 were in the Denomination of Origin (DO), 23 national and nine foreign, and 68 in the form of Indication of Origin (IP), all national. The GI of oranges of the species citrus sinensis was published in the Industrial Property Magazine (RPI) in July this year, according to the head of the Geographical Indication area at INPI, Pablo Regalado.
The complete list of Geographical Indications already recognized by the INPI is available on the internet.
Analysis
The head of the Geographical Indication area at the INPI, Pablo Regalado, explained that the recognition of the Geographical Indication occurs after analysis by the INPI regarding the fulfillment of technical requirements, such as the existence of a technical specification book and the delimitation of the geographic area, in addition to the product or service falls into one of the species, namely, the Indication of Origin (IP) or the Denomination of Origin (DO).
For the registration of an Indication of Origin, it is necessary that a certain geographic area has become demonstrably known as a center of extraction, production or manufacture of a certain product or provision of a certain service. In order to register a Denomination of Origin, it is necessary that the qualities or characteristics of the product or service are exclusively or essentially due to the peculiarities of the geographical environment, including natural and human factors.
legal instrument
According to the director of the Brazilian Intellectual Property Association (ABPI), Roner Guerra Fabris, the GI is a legal instrument that helps to strengthen a production chain that is usually linked to agribusiness or handicrafts.
“It is a legal instrument that helps the recognition that a product, coming from a certain place, has certain characteristics or qualities that are appreciated and that have led this product to a certain reputation”.
Fabris pointed out that when it requests a GI, this community is forced to organize itself among the producers, in order to draw up a specification and standards that must be followed. “This helps to add value to this product. The GI is an instrument that regulates a factual situation and provides the opportunity for this production chain to add value to a product, which is a competitive differential so that it can improve the life of society, a more organized production chain”.
