Move to promote GI goods
THE Intellectual Property Department has proposed promoting geographical-indication products - unique local goods - as tourist souvenirs to increase awareness of them worldwide.
Nuntawan Sakuntanaga, director-general to the department, said that since GI products could help increase the income of farmers and producers, the focus was on promoting the sale of GI goods to garner international acceptance.
She said other government agencies would be asked to give GI products to their guests.
She said the department would also join hands with the Tourism Ministry to promote the sale of GI products at tourist spots. “The GI products should no longer be promoted as intellectual goods, but can be promoted more for commercialisation as that can create better return to farmers, producers and the country,” she said.
“Thus, the department will encourage each community to have their own GI products and help support them for commercialisation.”
She said to promote a better public understanding for higher value-added GI products department would create a story for each product to better connect them to people.
Geographical indication is a name or sign used on certain products that corresponds to a specific geographical location or origin, such as a town, a province, a region or a country. GI products are high value-added goods and have intellectual property rights.
Under the department’s plan, it will promote the registration for another eight GI products next year, and it will urge |every province to have at least one GI product. The move aims to serve the government’s plan |to promote local economic growth.
So far, Thailand has 63 GI products in 55 provinces.
To increase the protection of Thai GI products overseas, the department will encourage more producers of GI products to have the products intellectual property rights registered overseas.
Three products will be registered in China next year – Thai Hom Mali Tung Kula Ronghai rice, Doi Chang Coffee and Doi Tung Coffee.
