Regional specialities under the protection of the European Union
Already nine various regional specialities of the Czech Republic have acquired protection from the European Union. With the exception of Budweiser beer, the protection of which was directly negotiated by the government during access negotiations, other producers have succeeded this year.
The system for marking traditional products from specific geographical regions, which cannot then be produced under the same trademark anywhere else, was established in 1992. The Union's trademark confirms the uniqueness of the products and thereby a more suitable position on the market. It also guarantees that the given speciality is produced in the defined geographical brands, and primarily developing an image of new, mainly regional brands is such a tremendous opportunity and challenge for the domestic food industry.
However, in the European Union we still belong among
countries with a relatively low number of registered trademarks. Due to this,
our businesses cannot use European funds intended for promoting these products.
Nevertheless, such producers present the demanded market variety and increase
the tourist attractiveness of the place. In certain cases, the production of
specific local products can also be a way of how to survive economically on the
food market. "Moreover, some products cannot be produced using bulk production
technology. Therefore, it is highly advisable to support the establishment and
existence of smaller local producers," says former Deputy Chairman of the
Committee on Agriculture of the Chamber of Deputies Jaroslav Pešán.
However, on the other hand, in this regard the Czech Republic is more successful than say Denmark, Belgium or the Netherlands and is a premiant among new member states. For example, Poland, which is several times larger, only managed to receive its first trademark this year in June. Countries like Hungary or Slovakia are still waiting for their first product with a trademark of origin. The leader in the number of registered trademarks of origin is Italy with 160 products, followed by France with 151 registered products.
Czech products with a trademark of origin also include: Stramberk ears, Karlovy Vary biscuits, Lomnicky biscuits, Pohořelický carp, Hořicky rolled wafers, Budějovické beer, Českobudějovické beer, Budějovický citizens beer and Žatecký hops. Another approximately thirty traditional Czech products are waiting for further decisions on being granted a trademark, which includes for example South Bohemian Niva, Pardubice gingerbread, Karlovy Vary wafers, and Olomoucké tvarůžky.
Source: http://ec.europa.eu