Bolivia: The Importance of Geographical Indications and Appellations of Origin

By PPO Abogados

From July 12 to 14, 2023, a seminar was organized by the Andean Community (CAN) and the International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (AIPPI) to discuss the importance of Geographical Indications (GIs) and Appellations of Origin (AOs) for Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.

GIs and AOs are designations that identify products as originating from a particular place where a given quality, reputation, or other characteristic of the product is essentially attributable to its geographical origin.

However, the Andean Community has a series of challenges on the matter:

-It does not have a harmonized law on GIs and AOs. This means that each country has its own laws and regulations, which can make it difficult to protect GIs and AOs that are traded across borders.

-Counterfeiting is a problem on the region, often producing fake products that are labeled with GIs or AOs that they do not have the right to use. This can damage the reputation of the genuine products and can also harm the producers of those products.

The seminar discussed a number of ways to address these challenges, including harmonizing the laws on GIs and AOs in the Andean Community, strengthening enforcement against counterfeiting and piracy, and raising awareness of the importance of GIs and AOs among producers, consumers, and policymakers.

The protection of GIs and AOs is an important issue for Bolivia, a country known for its rich history, traditions and culture. The protection is particularly important in the case of quinoa. Originating in the Andes, quinoa is a natural food resource of high nutritive value. The indigenous Andean people have maintained, controlled, protected and preserved this food crop using their traditional knowledge and practices.

Quinoa is recognized not only for its nutritional and dietary properties but also for its genetic diversity, adaptability to different agro-environmental conditions as well as the cultural and socio-economic benefits it has on the local environment. Faced with the challenge of increasing the production of quality food to feed the world's population in the context of climate change, quinoa offers an alternative for those countries suffering from food insecurity. It also, has the potential to reduce dependence on other staples like wheat and rice.

Currently, the Denomination of Origin Royal Quinoa recognizes a type of quinoa only produced in the salt flats of Bolivia, very valuable in the national and international markets. Therefore the importance to promote such recognition to differentiate the Royal Quinoa from the other quinoas produced in the world.