Appellations of Origin and Geographical Indications: the System of Registration and Their Role as Promoters of Macedonian Products

According to the Law on Industry Property of the Republic of North Macedonia Appellations of Origin (AOs) and Geographical Indications (GIs) are different industrial property rights. Although the number of protected Appellations of Origin and Geographical Indications is not on the same level as Trademarks or Patents, their importance for the Macedonian economy cannot be dismissed or omitted. This is so because these rights indicate that a certain product should have certain characteristics and as such be recognizable to consumers. This alone protects the geographical name from misuse, imitation, or false declaration. In the context of this, in this paper, the authors will analyze the notion of geographical indicators - Appellations of Origin and Geographical Indications according to the Macedonian legal framework, procedure, and the benefits of protection of these industrial property rights. Also, according to the relevant institutional Reports, the authors will make an analysis of the number of protected Appellations of Origin and Geographical Indications, the nature of protected products, and their further role as a promoter of Macedonian production of products that are typically for the Macedonian environment. During the analysis, the authors will give a brief review of some of the most used Macedonian products that are protected as a geographical name. A typical example is: Macedonian ajvar, Kochani rice, Krivopalanecki honey, Ohird pearls, and many others. This should not be surprising because the Republic of North Macedonia is known for many products that are recognizable in specific places or areas. The methods of analysis, abstraction, and generalization, as well as comparative analysis, will be used. The authors will give some recommendations for further improvement of the legislation and some measures for easier gaining knowledge, to simplify and make the process more accessible to applicants who may be a natural or legal person, a group of producers and manufacturers of the same products.