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Geographical indications (GIs) have been a neglected area in the various fora addressing biodiversity and intellectual property. This neglect is due to several reasons, among them the fact that GIs were long viewed as a protectionist strategy and an issue of interest mainly to Mediterranean Europe. The situation changed only in the last decade or so when many countries began to embrace GIs as a useful rural development strategy. The importance of this issue is growing steadily. Legislative changes, as well as the registration and commercial development of GIs are underway in most biologically-diverse developing countries and in developed countries that in the past were opposed to, or sceptic about, GIs. Read More
