The Protection of GIs in EU Bilateral Instruments: Some Reflection in Light of the EU-MERCOSUR Trade Deal

(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2022 7(3), 1471-1487 | Article | (Table of Contents) I. Introduction. - II. The legal framework for the protection of GIs in the EU and MERCOSUR. - II.1. European Union. - II.2. MERCOSUR. - III. Relevant rules included in the EU-MERCOSUR Agreement. - IV. Some contentious aspects of the EU-MERCOSUR agreement. - V. Concluding remarks. | (Abstract) This Article focuses on the protection of geographical indications (GIs) in the recently signed EU-MERCOSUR free trade agreement. It aims to provide an assessment of the relevant provisions of the agreement and to make some systemic considerations concerning the discipline of GI protection in EU bilateral instruments. The Article deals with some traditionally contentious issues, such as GIs for non-agricultural products and, most importantly, the use of a list of selected "global" GIs as op-posed to a more general system of GI protection akin to the one used to protect other forms of intellectual property. The Article suggests that while the lawfulness of the rules appears difficult to be questioned, it could still be possible to rethink some aspects of the system with a view to generally improving the protection of GIs in EU trade instruments.