On Thursday, 9 December 2021, the Bennett & Philp IP team hosted its last event for the year – a wine and cheese night. The occasion gave us a chance to catch up and learn more about geographical indicators, which are an oft-forgotten intellectual property right. In essence, a geographic indicator signifies that a product originates from a particular region. The most famous example is that only sparkling wines that originate from the Champagne region in France can be identified as 'Champagne'.
Professor Kamal Puri's presentation on geographical indicators and their untapped potential in the Australian market was engaging and humorous. Professor Puri discussed "Champagne" Jayne, the international value of products bearing geographic indicators (which can be in the hundreds of millions and even billions of dollars) and the untapped potential for Australian farmers in geographic indicators given the unique and high-quality food products that Australia grows and exports. Following Professor Puri's presentation, the attendees engaged in a robust discussion about why Australia might be lagging behind its Western counterparts in utilising geographic indicators to add value to local products both in the domestic and international marketplace.
We would like to thank everyone who attended our Wine and Cheese event and all the other attendees and guest speakers of our events throughout this year. The IP team at Bennett & Philp Lawyers would like to wish everyone a merry Christmas and a safe and happy new year. We look forward to seeing everyone in 2022!
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