Geographical indication and (appellation of origin of goods) APAs play an important role in the promotion of goods and business development in general. 

     The copyright holder places these marks on products, their labels and packaging, on forms, invoices, sales offers and advertising. Geographical indication and appellation of origin effectively influence the promotion of a product on the market, informing the consumer that the product has special properties, a certain quality, reputation or other characteristics determined by its geographical origin. The presence of an exclusive right to a geographical indication and a trademark allows the copyright holder to protect his rights to use them and prohibit the release of counterfeit goods, as well as apply to violators all appropriate penalties established by law (for example, withdraw the product from circulation, destroy counterfeit goods, labels, packaging at the expense of the violator, compensate for losses and pay compensation to the copyright holder).

     Like trademarks, geographical indications and appellations of origin must be promptly registered with Rospatent, since state registration serves as the basis for granting an exclusive right to them to their owner, which is certified by a certificate, and the information is entered into the State Register of Geographical Indications and Appellations of Origin of Goods of the Russian Federation.

     If necessary, an application can be submitted for repeated state registration, which is carried out based on the results of consideration of the first application for the grant of an exclusive right to a geographical indication or appellation of origin. A repeated application for registration is also submitted to Rospatent, and this right can be exercised by one applicant or several citizens, one or more legal entities, associations and other associations. That is, the exclusive right to a geographical indication and trademark can be granted to any person who produces a product, but the product must meet all the standards specified in the State Register.

     It should be noted that an important feature of these means of individualization is the prohibition on disposing of the exclusive right to them. Selling, purchasing or granting to another person the right to use a geographical indication and an appellation of origin without concluding an agreement is not permitted.

     The copyright holder of a geographical indication or a patent can register his trademark with their indication, but only if they are an unprotected element and the registration of the trademark will be carried out in relation to the same goods for the individualization of which the geographical indication or patent is registered. However, the legal protection of such a trademark may be terminated early at the request of any person in the event of termination of the right to use the corresponding geographical indication or appellation of origin.

      In conclusion, I would like to add that obtaining an exclusive right to a geographical indication and an appellation of origin by associations or other associations of persons who are not only manufacturers of goods, but also persons selling them, allows not only to unite their joint efforts, but also to produce higher quality and competitive products.

     Important advantages of such associations include:

- distribution of costs for the production and sale of goods among the members of the association;

- combining efforts to protect against the use of geographical indications and trademarks by unscrupulous competitors and jointly combating counterfeit products;

- the opportunity for individual entrepreneurs, small and medium-sized enterprises to compete with large manufacturers;

- monitor compliance with all established requirements for the product in order to prevent damage to the reputation of the geographical indication or appellation.