The three Institute researchers received the award for their publication “Sui Generis Geographical Indications for the Protection of Non-Agricultural Products in the EU: Can the Quality Schemes Fulfil the Task?”, which was published in the International Review of Intellectual Property and Competition Law (IIC) at the beginning of the year. The paper analyses the suitability of the extension of the EU quality schemes – Protected Designations of Origin (PDOs) and Protected Geographical Indications (PGIs) – to the protection of non-agricultural products.
For their research the authors built upon a previously unpublished dataset and applied a mixed comparative and empirical methodology. From their research findings they derive recommendations for action that the EU legislature should take into consideration in case of an extension of the EU sui generis GI regime to non-agricultural products.
The European Communities Trade Mark Association (ECTA), founded in 1980, is the oldest European association whose more than 1,500 members are experts, academics and professionals in the fields of trademarks, geographical indications, and other areas of IP Law. The ECTA Award is given as a recognition of top-level research which is deemed of considerable importance for the advancement of European trademark and design law, copyright law or geographical indications law.
The complete publication can be found here