Europe Receives First PDO Application from Non-EU State

On June 8, 2005, the European Commission received its first application for registration of a protected denomination of origin (PDO) from a non-EU state. The application by "Federación Nacional de cafeteros de Colombia" for "Café de Colombia" follows a World Trade Organization (WTO) report on March 15, 2005 addressing whether geographical indication protection can coexist with trademark rights under the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Agreement (TRIPS).

According to their press release, "The Commission welcomes the fact that the application comes from an association of producers in a developing country, thus underlining that geographical indications can be an instrument for development. The Commission will now study the application. If it meets all the requirements, it will be published in the Official Journal. Third parties then have six months to raise any objections. If they do not, it will then receive EU-wide approval."

Click here for an overview of protected designations of origin (PDO), protected geographical indications (PGI), and Traditional Speciality Guarantees (TSG); and click here for the latest official information from the European Commission.