4. In which ways is the initiative creative and innovative?
|
In Chile until 2010, and because of lack of awareness, except for wines and spirits, Geographical Indications, Appellations of Origin, Certification Marks and Collective Marks were practically not used for the protection of traditional Chilean products. Thus, important tools provided by industrial property for the creation of intangible assets for the holders of these rights were being wasted. With this diagnosis, and given the relative ignorance of the citizenship on this matter, the establishment of the Seal of Origin program was decided, encompassing these four industrial property rights.
In this way, the work began together with various organizations, both public and private, in order to promote products with Seal of Origin and publicize the benefits of having a Geographical Indication or an Appellation of Origin. Thus, among other things, a web site (www.sellodeorigen.cl) was developed, which would serve as a web showcase for all the Chilean products incorporated in the Seal of Origin program. In addition, the web site would be used to support the promotion of these products and boost the training of producers, offering their contact information, in order to increase the possibilities of commercialization.
|
|
5. Who implemented the initiative and what is the size of the population affected by this initiative?
|
The "Seal of Origin" initiative was implemented by INAPI, the public agency in charge of the administration of industrial property rights in Chile and also advisor to the President in matters of industrial property. INAPI has a staff of 180 officials, of which more than 50% are women.
Before the implementation of this program, and leaving wines and spirits aside, Chile had only the geographical indication for "Limón de Pica" (Pica Lime), whose recognition was obtained in 2010. In the case of Limón de Pica, it was linked to a small oasis in the north of Chile with only 3,500 inhabitants and the register of the GI was granted to a cooperative of no more than 40 producers. Nowadays, after less than five years of Program, 24 industrial property rights associated with the Seal (between Geographical Indications and Appellations of Origin, Collective Marks and Certification Marks) have been granted, directly benefiting more than 580 producers and indirectly 350,000 people, who are the inhabitants of the localities where products with Seal of Origin come from.
|
6. How was the strategy implemented and what resources were mobilized?
|
International studies have shown that in Europe, Geographical Indications and Appellations of Origin have been very successfully used by small producers to overcome problems related to value chains, giving them an alternative to boost their products. In addition, these studies show that consumers are willing to pay more when a product is recognized by having a quality or reputation associated with its origin.
Based on this, during 2011 INAPI officials toured the country interviewing local authorities, producers, artisans and farmers in various areas, in order to identify products and set up a plan for the promotion and development of said products through their recognition as GI and AO. From this survey, the creation of the program called "Seal of Origin" (Sello de Origen) was proposed to the Ministry of Economy. The Program was launched by the President of Chile in late July 2012. As part of the strategy, it was decided to create a brand that included the concepts of GI, AO, collective and certification marks which were linked to a Chilean geographical territory, as it was considered that this would facilitate their positioning within the Chilean public, who were not familiar with these sophisticated concepts of intellectual property.
During the years 2012 to 2014, with the support of the Undersecretary of Regional Development and the Ministry of Economy, INAPI worked directly with regional authorities in a first survey defining products which were typical of each region. Subsequently, a fund of CL $ 150,000,000 (US $ 230,000) was allocated for the preparation of the documents needed to apply for their registration, prioritizing two to three cases per region. This first exercise allowed the detection of more than 150 representative products of our country. As of February 2017, 24 traditional products of Chile were registered and another 9 have an application in process.
Since 2012, the Transfer of Knowledge Division of INAPI, formed by seven professionals, has toured through the country promoting the use of the Seal. In this period, more than 23 workshops have been given to different producers, both from Santiago and other regions, reaching a total of 569 trained people, with an approximate cost of $ 5,567,365 (US $ 8,500).
The program received a boost in September 2015, when President Michelle Bachelet launched, in the small town of La Ligua, the new image of the "Sello de Origen", intended to be used by all producers.
The last stage of this project relates to the dissemination and promotion of registered GIs and AOs, both by encouraging the participation of products in national and international fairs and by presenting the Seal of Origin program in international fora such as APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation) and Alianza del Pacífico (Pacific Alliance). Finally, strategic alliances have also been made with new institutions, such as Fundación Imagen de Chile (the agency in charge of promoting the country abroad), with which a book was produced displaying the products of the Seal.
|
|
7. Who were the stakeholders involved in the design of the initiative and in its implementation?
|
This program, although designed by INAPI, was conceived from the outset as a collaborative project between different public and private agencies, as well as the producers’ organizations. Thus, in a first stage, regional governments played a relevant role in gathering information on the products that could be incorporated into the Program. The Undersecretary of Regional Development (SUBDERE) was then involved- in order to finance the necessary technical reports. At this same stage we had the fundamental support of the social entrepreneur Ms. Jeannette Von Wolfersdorff and Hacer Chile Foundation, presided over by Mr. Gonzalo Sánchez, who supported the poorer producers in the submission of different applications before INAPI.
Once the program was officially launched by the President in 2012, its implementation and administration fell under the responsibility of INAPI, in coordination with the Ministry of Economy.
Nowadays, the Program has been taking on a national importance, being supported by the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Public Works, regional authorities (governors) and local authorities (mayors), Imagen de Chile Foundation and multiple NGOs and private law corporations.
|
|
8. What were the most successful outputs and why was the initiative effective?
|
Our program has taken on board the goals set out in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, in particular gender equality, responsible consumption and reduction of inequalities. Thus, we have sought to promote sustainable agriculture, to support small producers and to help the empowerment of women. In fact, of the 24 products currently recognized with the Seal, it is possible to highlight the embroideries from Isla Negra, the Pottery from Quinchamalí, the Chamantos and Mantas Corraleras (Linens and ponchos) from Doñihue, in which all the beneficiaries are women. In this way, the Seal of Origin program rescues, highlights and values the action of women producers and artisans as agents that generate local development.
As we said, the first Chilean product recognized with a geographical indication, was the Lime from Pica. The unique characteristics of this product, which is cultivated on an area of 66 hectares within an oasis in the middle of the desert, made possible that in 2016 this unique product was exported to gourmet markets as important as Madrid or London. And, as a sample of the impact and commercial success that this product has had since the granting of the Geographical Indication, the data provided by the Internal Revenue Service indicates that the Cooperative of producers has increased its sales by 15 times, in a period of only 6 years.
Another case of success relates to the Appellation of Origin of the Salt from Cahuil, Boyeruca and Lo Valdivia. These are three localities of the region of O'Higgins, in the coast of the central area of Chile, that for generations have lived of the commercialization of the sea salt. Over time, prices began to fall and 50 kg of sea salt were being sold for only U$ 4, which was not even enough to cover the costs of its extraction. This caused a great economic depression in the area, which led many young people to abandon the traditional craft of their parents and grandparents. However, thanks to the Seal of Origin, in a few years the extraction of salt has revived as a business, allowing for the producers to have more optimistic commercial expectations and enhancing access for the producer's association to funds for building a processing plant. At present the product is recognized as gourmet and its value in the market has exponentially grown.
|
|
9. What were the main obstacles encountered and how were they overcome?
|
The main obstacle was related to the availability of economic and technical resources to develop the technical documentation required for the submission of applications. To solve this problem, an exclusive financing line was established for the "Seal of Origin" with funds provided by the Undersecretary for Regional Development (SUBDERE), which were used to hire expert advisors in some of the regions.
Once these technical reports were properly elaborated, a second problem, related to the association capacity of the producers and their ability to design their own regulations of use and control, was evidenced. This point was solved in two ways. On the one hand, through the collaboration of private entities, such as Hacer Chile Foundation, who freely assumed the representation of some producers, grouping and supporting them with the drafting of said regulations. In this way it was possible to carry out the submission and registration of applications from areas with less resources. On the other hand, INAPI carried out important accompaniment and training activities in order to support the producers in drafting the documents that substantiated their applications. Even so, this lack of associativity among producers continues to be one of the main difficulties of the Program, reason why it has been necessary to continue and to reinforce the actions intended to promote the collaborative work.
|