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RR RUEHCN RUEHGH
DE RUEHGZ #6875/01 1580301
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 070301Z JUN 06
FM AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0207
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUEKJCS/DIA WASHDC
RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 GUANGZHOU 016875 
 
SIPDIS 
 
USDOC FOR 4420/ITA/MAC/MCQUEEN, DAS LEVINE 
STATE FOR EB/TPP MASSINGA, FELSING 
STATE PASS COPYRIGHT FOR TEPP 
STATE PASS USPTO FOR DUDAS, BROWNING, BOLAND, ANTHONY, NESS 
STATE PASS USTR FOR MENDENHALL, MCCOY, ESPINEL, CELICO 
USDOJ FOR SUSSMAN 
DHS/CPP FOR PIZZECK 
USPACOM FOR FPA 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KIPR ECON ETRD WTRO CH
SUBJECT: Fujian Sees Gold in Geographical Indications 
 
 
(U) This document is sensitive but unclassified.  Please 
protect accordingly. 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: Fujian's agricultural sector can rise 
above its domestic and international competitors by tapping 
into China's trademark system for geographical indications 
(GIs), according to officials at a recent conference on GIs 
organized by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) 
and the China Trademark Office (CTMO).  Fujian officials 
believe the GI system can "put a region on the map", and 
allow local farmers in particular to create strong brands 
for their products and reap the resulting economic benefits. 
Three separate newspapers covered the event, all stressing 
the economic advantages of the GI system.  This bodes well 
for CTMO, which supports the U.S. GI system and is engaged 
in a struggle with the Administration of Quality Supervision 
Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) for authority over GI 
protection in China.  End summary. 
 
Background on the GI Issue 
-------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) Following a similar conference in Beijing on May 
23, USPTO and CTMO held a conference on GIs in Xiamen, 
Fujian on May 25.  The purpose of the conference was to 
explain the U.S. system for protecting GIs, which is based 
on trademark law and gives GIs and trademarks equal weight. 
This differs from the European GI system, under which a GI 
trumps a trademark.  China currently has a dual system for 
GIs, in which both CTMO and AQSIQ have governing authority. 
CTMO supports the U.S. model while AQSIQ supports the 
European model. 
 
¶3. (U) Participants in the conference included officials 
from USPTO, CTMO, and the Fujian Administration of Industry 
and Commerce [AIC]; an Australian government trademark 
policy advisor; and representatives from the Idaho Potato 
Commission, the Florida Citrus Commission, and Anheuser- 
Busch.  Attendees included agricultural producers, local 
government officials, and media. 
 
CTMO Status Report 
------------------ 
 
¶4. (SBU) In his opening remarks, CTMO Director An Qinghu 
stressed CTMO's commitment to encouraging the growth of GIs 
in China and highlighted CTMO's recent activities.  CTMO has 
received a total of 600 GI applications and has issued 171. 
Seventeen of the GIs went to foreign entities, three of 
which were U.S. rights holders.  Five additional U.S. GI 
applications are pending.  (The Florida Citrus Commission 
holds a GI in China.  The application from the Idaho 
Potatoes Commission is reportedly close to approval.) 
 
Fujian: A Test Case for the GI System 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (U) Zhu Changbin, Vice Director of the Fujian AIC and 
head of trademark issues for the office, said GIs offer an 
effective way to increase rural income and agricultural 
efficiency.  GIs lead to greater consumer awareness and give 
farmers more incentive to improve the quality of their 
products.  As a result, farmers can charge more for their 
products than the industry average, and local employment 
grows as a result.  Zhu highlighted Fujian's tea industry as 
a beneficiary of the GI system.  In Anxi county, which is 
particularly well-known for its tea, 800,000 of its one 
million residents are involved in the tea industry.  Anxi 
saw its foreign trade growth increase 22 percent annually 
from 1998 to 2003.  Foreign investment in the county has 
also increased drastically in recent years. 
 
¶6. (U) Zhu said Fujian can use the GI system to support the 
central government's New Socialist Countryside initiative, 
in which rural areas will receive an increased proportion of 
central government assistance.  Nevertheless, Zhu added that 
educating farmers of the GI systems is a challenge, and the 
application process is still too lengthy.  He added that 
local governments must pay increasing attention to anti- 
 
GUANGZHOU 00016875  002 OF 002 
 
 
counterfeiting in order to build a successful GI model.  One- 
third of Fujian trademark cases in 2005 involved 
agricultural goods, including such products as fertilizer 
and pesticide. 
 
U.S. Industry Chimes In 
----------------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) Representatives from the Florida Citrus Commission 
and the Idaho Potato Commission spoke about their efforts to 
build strong brand recognition of their GIs.  Both 
organizations depend on funds contributed by producers.  In 
addition to brand promotion, these funds pay for 
certification inspections and anti-counterfeiting 
enforcement.  When asked how they mandate payments, the 
representatives explained that their organizations are 
governed in part by state law, which requires growers within 
defined regions to participate and pay the fee. 
 
Positive Press Coverage a Welcome Surprise 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶8. (U) Three different daily newspapers gave significant 
coverage to the GI issue during the week of the conference. 
The newspapers, from Xiamen, Quanzhou, and Fujian Province, 
all focused on the potential economic benefits to regional 
businesses and highlighted local success stories.  The 
Xiamen Daily linked the GI system to the central 
government's New Socialist Countryside initiative and also 
outlined the "ABCs" of registering a GI with CTMO. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶9. (SBU) The GI issue offers a unique area of agreement 
between the United States and China in the IPR realm, and 
bilateral engagement will hopefully boost the position of 
CTMO in guiding central government policy on GI protection. 
Fujian has registered 22 GIs with CTMO -- second only to 
Zhejiang among China's provinces -- and thus has a 
particularly strong voice on the issue.  The extensive press 
coverage shows that this relatively obscure issue is 
nevertheless striking a chord with those who believe GIs are 
a partial antidote to China's struggling rural economy. 
 
¶10. (U) Embassy IPR Attache Mark Cohen has approved this 
cable. 
 
DONG