The Conflict Between Trade Marks and Geographical Indications–The Budweiser Case in Portugal

The Conflict Between Trade Marks and Geographical Indications–The Budweiser Case in Portugal
Antonio Corte-Real

ISBN 1–84113–571–2
Hart Publishing

Trade marks (TM) and geographical indications (GI) share the fact that they both serve to communicate certain information to consumers about the origin of the goods.
In general terms, a TM serves the purpose of distinguishing the goods or services of one undertaking from the goods or services of another, while a GI is a sign indicating a link of the goods with their place of origin

TMs need to be distinctive to indicate a connection between the goods and an individual producer or an individual trader, while GIs are descriptive of certain characteristics of the goods and therefore in principle should not
be the subject matter of a trade mark right. TMs are normally protected in terms of private property rights while GIs are protected in terms of public or common property and may be used by all traders in a particular geographic location for goods which emanate from that location.