TIPS^®  Taiwan Intellectual Property Special

Registration of Geographical Indication as Certification Mark

Chi-Shang is an agriculture town in East Taiwan. Chi-Shang rice is famous island-wide in Taiwan due to its remote unpopulated growing environment. However, not all the Chi-Shang Rice found on the market is grown in Chi-Shang Town and this is a well-known fact. The improper use of the term “Chi-Shang Rice” confuses the consumers and is unfair to the farmers in Chi-Shang Town. The Town Government of Chi-Shang (the Town) therefore file a certification mark application for “Chi-Shang Rice” in May 2003, intending to use for the certification of the origin of the rice product. The application was approved on September 1, 2003, but was opposed by rice sellers, alleging that the term “Chi-Shang Rice” has been used to describe high-quality rice produced in East Taiwan and should not be monopolized by Chi-Shang Town.

A trademark should be distinctive in order to be registered. According to Paragraph 11, Article 23 of Taiwan Trademark Law, any mark that is “likely to mislead the public with respect to the nature, quality or place of origin of the goods” is not registrable as a trademark. Since “Chi-Shang” is a place of origin, which may mislead the public to believe that the product was produced in that place, it shall not be registered as a trademark. In order to strengthen the protection of geographical indication, the Trademark Law Amendment, which took effect in 2003, includes the registration of a certification mark to indicate the place of origin. After lengthy examination and opposition procedures, “Ch-Shang Rice” is registered as a certification mark and became the first certification mark that indicating the origin of goods. The Town Government of Chi-Shang Town emphasize that, from now on, they will help the local farmers to pass the certification and will also actively enforce their rights.