• Quality Control
  • Protected Geographical indication

Protected Geographical indication

Geographical Indication

Purpose
  • Improve quality of regional specialty product and promote regional specialized industry by protecting the geographically registered processed or unprocessed fishery product with superior geographical characteristic
  • Increase competitiveness of local fishery products and processed foods by protecting the geographical specialty producers
  • Fulfilling customer’s right to know by providing sufficient product information
Legal basis
  • Article 2, 3, 32, 55, 113, 119, 120, 123 of Agricultural and Fishery Products Quality Control Act
  • Article 3, 9, 12, 18, 45 of Agricultural and Fishery Products Quality Control Act Enforcement Decree
  • Article 56, 71 of Agricultural and Fishery Products Quality Control Act Enforcement Regulation
Introduction background and concept
  • To actively cope with international movement to protect geographical indications. (Trade Related Intellectual Property rights: TRIPs from 1995 WTO)
  • For quality improvement of fishery products and processed food, promotion of regional specialized industry, and introduction of geographical indication registration by protecting superior geographical specialties. (Agricultural and Fishery Products Quality Control Act; 1999.7.1)
  • Geographical indication refers to agricultural and fishery products or processed agricultural and fishery products are special products produced in a specific area when the reputation, quality, and other characteristics are essentially due to the geographical characteristics of that specific area.
Application qualification
  • Limited to an organization (including corporation and sole proprietorship) composed of producers or processors of geographically specialized fishery products or its processed product.
Items subject to application
  • Fishery products or processed fishery products that has the geographical characteristic
  • Registration status of geographical indication link icon
Implementation progress
  • The applicant fills out the geographical indication registration (alteration) application form down icon with 8 other required documents and submits them to the director of the National FIshery Products Quality Management Services (NFQS) and the director of the NFQS request deliberation by the geographical indication registration review subcommittee within 30 days from the date of application
Deliberation criteria
  • Whether the item is a fishery product produced only in an area subject to geographical indication, or an item processed in the area using it as the main raw material.
  • Whether the excellence of the product is widely known domestically or abroad
  • Whether the item has a long history of being produced in the area subject to geographical indication
  • Whether the reputation, quality, or other characteristics of the relevant item are essentially due to environmental factors or human factors in the production environment of a specific region
  • Whether the applicant corporation is organized by involving most of the people who produce or process the relevant item, does not restrict the participation of those who produce the relevant item, and the corporation can be continuously maintained and developed
  • Whether the internal quality standards, quality control plan, production plan to maintain the quality level of the item are adequate
Processing of deliberation results
  • The director of the NFQS handles the matter according to the deliberation results of the geographical indication registration deliberation subcommittee
  • Decision to refuse registration
    • When it is determined that a geographical indication is unsuitable for registration, the applicant is notified without delay, specifying the reason
    • If it is deemed unsuitable for geographical indication, notify the applicant without delay by specifying the reason
    • Supplementation notification: When it is judged that nonconformities can be supplemented in a short period of time
  • Announcement of application for registration: when there is no reason to refuse registration after deliberation by the registration deliberation subcommittee (through the conference of the Korean Intellectual Property Office), an announcement will be made within 2 months
    • Name, address and telephone number of the applicant for registration of geographical indication, target item and registered name
    • Specialized characteristics and quality of the product and their relationship with geographical factors
    • Scope of area subject to geographical indication
    • Applicant's own quality standards and quality control plan
Appeal and review
  • Anyone may file an objection to the director of the NFQS by submitting an objection form down icon stating the reasons for the objection and attaching the necessary evidence within two months from the date of announcement of the application for registration. If the objection constitutes a justifiable reason for refusing registration, the specific reason for refusal of registration will be notified to the registration applicant
Registration and notification of registration of geographical indications
  • When it is decided to register a geographical indication, the following matters shall be announced
    • Registration date and registration number
    • Name, address, and telephone number of the geographical indication registrant (or corporations)
    • Products subject to geographical indication registration and registered name
    • Scope of area subject to geographical indication
    • Relationship between specialized characteristics and geographical factors
    • Registrant’s own quality standards and quality control plan
  • Director of the NFQS issues a “Geographical Indication Registration Certificate” when a geographical indication is registered
Indication of geographical indication products (registration mark)
  • If a person who has received registration of a geographical indication wishes to mark it, he or she must mark the registered name on the surface of the packaging container of the geographical indication product and indicate the label and labeling information in accordance to Appendix 15 of the Enforcement Rules of the Agricultural and Fishery Products Quality Control Act down icon
Changes to geographical indication registration
  • Anyone who wishes to change the registrant, scope of target area, or self-quality standards from registered geographical indication must fill out a geographical indication registration (change) application form and submit it to the director of the NFQS
If the registrant is a corporation, transfer and succession are possible only in the case of a change in corporate name or corporate merger. If the geographical indication registration deliberation subcommittee finds it appropriate after deliberation, the application gets approved and the registrant (corporation) will be notified of approval of change.
Judgment of geographical indication
  • If a trial or retrial regarding a geographical indication is necessary (such as a trial for invalidation or cancellation of a geographical indication), or cancellation of registration of a geographical indication, submit a request for trial to the MOF