At CIBUS, in Parma, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed by MIPAAF, AICIG and eBay
PARMA – 7 MAY 2014
Today, a Memorandum of Understanding for the protection and promotion of PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) and PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) agro-food products on the eBay online platform. The agreement was signed between the Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies, eBay and the Italian Association of Geographic Indication Consortia (AICIG).
The Memorandum aims to enhance the protection, promotion and appreciation of Italian PDO and PGI products by consumers using the eBay platform, by favouring the presence of authentic, quality Italian products in the online marketplace.
In fact, Italian PDO and PGI products represent 40% of the total European designation-protected production, with total sales by producers of about 7 billion euros. It is an asset that institutions, associations and entrepreneurs intend to protect even further on eBay, one of the largest online marketplaces in the world, and the number one in Italy, with over 4.5 million active users.
The memorandum assigns a central role to the Verified Rights Owner Program (VeRO), a system that has more than 37 thousand active users and allows holders of intellectual property rights (such as copyrights, trademarks or patents) to report any violations.
Through the VeRO, the Central Inspectorate for Food Quality and Fraud Repression (ICQRF) of the Italian Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies, together with AICIG, undertake to send eBay “notices of violations of intellectual property rights in relation to PDO and PGI products”.
eBay agrees to remove ads and offers that violate the regulations for PDO and PGI products. At the same time, the Central Inspectorate for Food Quality and Fraud Repression (ICQRF) will exercise its power to protect products throughout the European Union by blocking the sale of counterfeit products.
“This Memorandum,” said Maurizio Martina, Minister for Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies, “fits into the broader context of strategic actions that we are deploying to protect and promote Italian agribusiness. Through the agreement with eBay we are acting on two fronts: stopping fraud and promoting authentic products. We will have the opportunity to promptly report violations of geographical indications, also by fighting against Italian-sounding names. At the same time, we will promote awareness of our quality products by users of the Web and the commercial presence of our true PDO and PGI products. Let’s not forget that Italy is the European leader, with 264 recognized products and total sales to Italian consumers of almost 9 billion euros. These figures can be even higher if we recover the space now occupied by fraudulent products”.
“With this agreement”, added Stefano Vaccari, ICQRF department head, “ICQRF, which in recent months has stepped up controls on online sales in many European countries, is further strengthening its efforts to protect the quality of Italian products, thus ensuring not only consumers but also producers of authentic Italian products. In fact, through the VeRO program, the Inspectorate will be able to act even faster to protect Geographical Indications in Europe”.
“AICIG and the Consortia system,” said Giuseppe Liberatore, President of the Italian Association of Geographic Indication Consortia, “are very active in the protection of designations on the Web. In this sense, it is worth noting the efforts that the Association is making with ISMEA in the creation of a portal dedicated to Geographic Indications (www.dop-igp.eu), designed with the aim of developing applications that will allow monitoring personnel to report specific violations, especially in the marketing stage, to the competent authorities. The signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry and eBay, on the protection and promotion of PDO and PGI products is a warmly welcomed event and a further step forward in the constant effort to protect our excellent agro-food products”.
“The Memorandum signed today,” added Atty. Andrea Moretti, Director of Legal Affairs for eBay in Italy, “is a valuable tool for networking with institutions and protection consortia and promoting PDO and PGI products. The fight against counterfeiting,” Moretti continued, “has always been one of the main issues for eBay, and precisely to facilitate cooperation with the holders of intellectual property rights, in 1998 we created VeRO, the Verified Rights Owner Program. Participants in the VeRO program can report ads violating those rights and request their removal”.
