European Union as the creator of international standards of protection of intellectual property rights – the case of geographical indications

Abstract

The European Union creates many common standards which have to be obeyed by its member states. What is more, it also pushes non-EU members to accept some of its standards by means of international agreements and treaties. One of the areas in which the EU is interested in increasing the level of international protection are intellectual property rights in general, and geographical indications (GIs) in particular. The EU has created some common rules which are obligatory for its member states. It also undertakes efforts to increase the level of international protection of IP rights at the WTO level and in its bilateral relations. This is not an easy task. This chapter presents the European model of GI protection as compared to the American and multilateral approaches. The aim of the chapter is to find out why the EU’s position is so firm in negotiations concerning GIs and whether there is a scope for the compromise between the European Union and the United States in this area in currently negotiated TTIP agreement.