Protection of geographical indications from unfair competition A comparative legal study

Abstract

Abstract: The study of the issue of protecting geographical indications from unfair competition is of great importance due to its close association with commercial and economic activity and the linkage of products bearing a geographical indication to a specific geographical area with characteristics and quality of its own, as the protection of geographical indications is a means to give additional value to these products and motivate producers to develop their production And expanding their fields in proportion to the natural and human resources in Iraq. Geographical indications mean a sign that is placed on goods and products to distinguish them from others due to their geographical origin in the region of a state, region, or place in that region, and this sign includes natural or human factors, or both of them present in this geographical area and which are unique to them from the rest of the geographical regions. The protection of geographical indications from unfair competition falls within the civil protection, which takes place by submitting a lawsuit to the judiciary from the aggrieved (who has the right to the geographical indication) from acts of unfair competition after fulfilling the conditions set by the law, which lie in the occurrence of acts of unfair competition and harm and the causal relationship between the damage And acts of unfair competition. The legal protection of geographical indications provides protection for products bearing a geographical indication and protection for the consumer from fraud and deception that occurs as a result of obtaining counterfeit or forged products that do not have the same characteristics, quality and quality as the original products bearing the geographical indication. © 2023 TUJR, College of Law, Tikrit University