The Extension of Additional Protection under the Aspect of Geographical Indications (GI) Law to Cover Coffee: A Case Study of Thailand

Abstract

          Coffee is among the beverage with the highest consumption rate in the world. Despite the complexity of coffee plantations, coffee production has been increasing over the past decades. This phenomenon later led to the geographical indications tags which emphasized the environment where coffee is being grown and coffee bean processing techniques which is unique in each location. With respect to the current geographical indications law under the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) which is also concerning the protection of the products with the uniqueness in geographical regions, the additional protection only provides to certain product namely wine and spirits. Accordingly, many countries come up with the suggestion to extend such additional protection to cover coffee products. However, it is still debatable among the member states whether it is necessary to implement such extension since some has argued that general protection is adequate enough. This research found that in particular countries and areas, namely European Union (EU), Japan and Thailand where coffee plays certain significant role in the economy, the relevant law on additional protection still does not cover coffee products. In order to maximize the economic value of coffee products and to reflect the true intention of the geographical indications law, the additional protections should be extended to cover coffee products as well.