Second Reading Speech by Senior Minister of State for Law, Indranee Rajah SC, on the Geographical Indications Bill

14 Apr 2014 Posted in Parliamentary speeches and responses

Madam Speaker,

1. I beg to move, ‘That the Bill be now read a second time’.

1. Introduction

2. Madam, the Geographical Indications Bill proposes to strengthen protection for businesses and consumers by enhancing the regime dealing with representation of geographical origins of goods, where such origins are indicative of quality.

3. Before going into the provisions of the Bill, it may be useful for me to explain what we mean by “Geographical Indications” or “GIs” in the context of the Bill.

4. Geographical Indications or “GIs” are terms which are used to inform consumers that a product comes from a particular place.

5. Such goods would often fall under the category of food and drink. I thought Madam Speaker that it might be useful to illustrate this, and with your permission, may I ask the clerk to distribute an Annexure to the Members.

6. Madam Speaker, this Annexure is to enable the Members to appreciate the full flavor of what we mean. The Ministry of Law exercised some creative licence to come up with a menu to illustrate what it would look like if you had food and beverage with geographical indications.

7. So you would have: Starters, Melon wrapped with Prosciutto di Parma, followed by Belon Oysters, and baked Camembert Cheese from Normandy. For the mains, you would have Chicken from Bresse, braised in red wine from Burgundy, and followed by Roast Kobe Beef Rib seasoned with Sarawak Pepper. For dessert, you would have fresh strawberries drizzled with balsamic vinegar from Modena, a Provencal Olive Oil-Lemon Cake and a Champagne Granita. And of course, not forgetting the wines, you have Chablis, Mosel for the whites, a Bordeaux, and Brunello de Montalcino for the red, with digestifs of Grappa and Port.

8. Madam, the names of many of these products refer to a town, region or country, as can be seen from the menu. If Members wish to avail themselves of the menu and try it out, I can assure them that the Ministry of Law will not be exercising copyright in respect of the menu, and they are free to do so.

9. We call these terms GIs when they signal to consumers that a product has special qualities or enjoys a certain reputation or other characteristic due to its geographical origin.

10. Indeed, some of the terms in the menu are recognized as GIs in other countries.

11. So take “Bordeaux” for example.

12. “Bordeaux” is a wine originating from the Bordeaux region in France. It is said to have a special flavor and characteristic because of its geographical origin.

13. If “Bordeaux” is protected as a GI in Singapore, this means that only wines produced in the Bordeaux region can be labelled and marketed as “Bordeaux” wines in Singapore.

14. Wines produced outside of Bordeaux that are labelled or marketed as “Bordeaux” wines would infringe the “Bordeaux” GI.

15. The traders and producers of GI products, or their relevant associations, may then pursue civil action to stop the infringement or seek damages.

2. Nature of GI Protection

16. Why protect GIs?

17. As indicated earlier, many GIs revolve around food and drink.

18. Singaporeans increasingly consume and enjoy food products from all over the world, including various agricultural and dairy products, wines and spirits.

19. GI protection safeguards the interests of our consumers. It provides greater assurance that the products bought by our consumers truly carry the characteristics that they are known for, and which are attributable to their geographical origin.

20. Currently, GIs are already protected in Singapore under the Geographical Indications Act, in accordance with the World Trade Organization Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, or TRIPS, standards.

21. TRIPS provides a two-tiered scheme of protection:
    1. First, all GI products enjoy a basic level of protection where GI labels cannot be used on products which do not come from the place indicated by the GI, if this misleads the public as to the true geographical origin of those products.
    2. For wines and spirits, there is an enhanced level of protection where GI labels cannot be used even if consumers are not misled as to the true geographical origin of the goods in question. One example of this is the use of the term "Bordeaux-like". This may not mislead consumers but is nevertheless not allowed.

22. The present Act does not require GIs to be registered before they enjoy the relevant type of protection under TRIPS.

23. However, in practice, the absence of a registration system means that a term can only be conclusively determined that it is a GI through a Court ruling in a civil suit. Thus far, there have not been any such disputes before our Courts.

3. Objectives of the Bill

24. I move onto the objectives of the Bill.

25. Under the recently concluded FTA negotiations with the EU, we have agreed to take steps to bring the agreement into force by strengthening our GI regime.

26. The Bill proposes to:
    1. First, establish a Registry of Geographical Indications (“the GI Registry”);
    2. Second, enhance the protection of GIs in Singapore; and
    3. Third, provide improved border enforcement measures for GIs.

27. I will now take the House through the main features of the Bill.

4. GI Registration System

28. Part IV of the Bill establishes a system of registration for GIs.

29. The aim of having a system of registration is to improve the certainty of protection given to GIs.

30. Registration will give the holder certainty that a term is recognized as a GI and is therefore entitled to all the protections enjoyed by a GI, without needing to confirm this before the Courts. This will facilitate enforcement of these rights.

31. The proposed GI Registry will reside within the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (“IPOS”).

32. When established, the Registry will examine applications for GI registration in respect of:
    1. Wines and spirits; and
    2. Selected categories of agricultural products and foodstuffs, such as cheese, meat and seafood.

33. Registration will be a 3-stage process that seeks to be transparent and fair.

34. The process is similar to the trade mark registration system in Singapore and comprises:
    1. Firstly, application. Among other things, applicants will be required to specify the quality, reputation, or characteristics of the goods in question and how that is attributable to the geographical origin.
    2. Second, there will be examination. There will be detailed examination of each application to ascertain that they fulfil certain fundamental requirements. These are largely similar to what is mandated under the present Act and TRIPS.
    3. Third, publication and opposition. Thereafter, the application will be made public for a period of time. This is to allow third parties an opportunity to object to the registration, for example, on grounds of “generic-ness” (meaning that the GI has become a common name for describing that product in Singapore). In this respect, GI terms which are proven to have become common household names in Singapore may not be registered.

35. Registration of a GI will last for 10 years initially. Like the trade mark registration system, this can be renewed for further periods of 10 years.

36. To protect existing rights, GI registration will also follow the “first in time, first in right” principle. This means that a new application for GI registration may not invalidate a prior conflicting GI or trade mark which already exists.

37. Trade mark owners today using terms similar to GIs being registered will thus not be inconvenienced. However, the GI can still be registered if consent is obtained from the owner of the prior conflicting trade mark.

38. Consequential amendments to the Trade Marks Act will be made to align the current Trade Marks regime with this position.

39. There will also be exceptions for existing users of GIs so that their business operations will not be disrupted.

40. For instance, if a person has continuously used a GI term in Singapore for a sufficiently long period of time, or has previously used the term in good faith, he or she may continue to use the term, even if the GI is subsequently registered.

41. We do not foresee significant impact on consumer choice, as the majority of products labelled with GIs in the local market are already of the correct geographical origin.

42. Moreover, for many products, there is a substantial intra-GI competition. For example, there are many producers of “Bordeaux” wines, competing with one another at different segments of the market.

43. Businesses that import foodstuffs, wines and spirits may have to adjust their operations to comply with the new requirements. For example, they may have to work with producers to re-label such products for sale in our local market.

44. That said, through our public and industry consults, we have already alerted our local businesses, and they have already started planning the new GI regime.

45. That is the first main change.

5. Enhanced Protection for Registered GIs

46. The second relates to the enhanced protection for registered GIs.

47. Under the TRIPS two-tier system of protection, wines and spirits enjoy an enhanced level of protection.

48. This enhanced level of protection means that protection is conferred even if consumers are not misled as to the products’ true geographical origin.

49. Clause 4 of the Bill will extend this enhanced level of protection beyond wines and spirits to all successfully registered GIs, including agricultural products and foodstuff.

6. Improved Border Enforcement Measures

50. The third change relates to border enforcement measures.

51. Under Part VI of the Bill, owners of all registered GIs will have access to improved border enforcement measures.

52. For instance, they will be able to request that our Customs authorities detain suspected infringing goods which are to be imported into or exported from Singapore.

53. These measures are generally based on those in the Trade Marks Act, with modifications to suit the situations involving GIs.

7. Implementation – Staged Approach

54. I move on now to implementation. The changes under the Bill will be implemented in stages to correspond with the EUSFTA ratification timeline.
    1. The GI Registry will be established only if the EU Parliament ratifies the EUSFTA.
    2. The enhanced protection for all categories of registered GIs will only kick in when the benefits of the EUSFTA is provisionally applied both ways.
    3. Improved border enforcement measures will only be effected within 3 years after the EUSFTA enters in force. This will give Customs time to build up capabilities to undertake enforcement action.

55. The staged implementation ensures that any potential disruptions to local businesses dealing with or using GI products do not kick in before the benefits of the EUSFTA start to accrue.

56. It will also give businesses time to make the necessary changes to adjust to the new GI regime, including for example, the relabeling of products for the sale in the local market, which is what some local businesses are already in the process of doing.

8. Relationship between existing GI protection regime and the Bill

57. When the new GI protection regime comes into force, it will not over-ride or undermine any rights which GI holders already have under the existing regime. These rights will co-exist with those under the new regime.

58. However, those who wish to benefit from increased certainty of recognition, enhanced level of protection and improved border enforcement measures can opt for registration.

9. Conclusion

59. Madam Speaker, in conclusion, the EUSFTA, when it comes into force, could bring about the following benefits:
    1. Tariff concessions on our exports, and
    2. Greater EU market access for Singaporean companies.

60. The proposed changes in our GI regime will put us in a position to meet our obligations under the EUSFTA, should the conditions for implementation arise. It will also then benefit our consumers.

61. At the same time, we have structured the implementation in phases to minimize disruption to businesses, and ensure that the benefits of the EUSFTA accrue in a fair manner to both countries.

62. Madam, I beg to move.

Annexure to Second Reading Speech (Geographical Indications Bill) (0.04MB)

See also: Factsheet on the Geographical Indications Bill (0.08MB)

Last updated on 17 Apr 2014