Adding Geographical Indication Protection to a Regional Collective Trademark: Evidence on Rural Production and Commercialisation in Japan

Abstract This study examines whether Geographical Indication (GI) registration generates additional changes in rural production and commercialisation when a regional product is already protected by a Regional Collective Trademark (RCT). Using Ichida Gaki, a traditional dried persimmon from Nagano Prefecture, Japan, as a case, the study compares the RCT-only period (2007–2015) with the combined RCT-plus-GI period (2017–2023). A prefecture-year panel is analysed using two-way fixed-effects models, event-study analyses, and spatial analyses. Relative to comparison prefectures, production volume remained comparatively higher after GI registration, while shipment volume and shipment rate declined. The decline in shipment volume received the strongest empirical support and remained robust across alternative specifications, whereas pre-treatment trends limit causal interpretation for production volume and shipment rate. Spatial analyses also indicate geographically heterogeneous post-registration changes among other dried-persimmon-producing prefectures. The findings suggest that GI registration may affect rural production systems not only through brand protection but also through changes in commercialisation and institutional governance. More broadly, the study highlights the importance of evaluating layered intellectual property protection as an institutional component of rural development policy whose implications may differ across production and market participation.