Protection of Geographical Indications in International Trade: Prospects for Russia

Abstract

Geographical indications (GIs) represent the intellectual property rights, which protection could play a significant role in the increasing regional and national trade. The paper reveals the impact of protected GIs on international trade and provides certain recommendations for Russia. There is an evident gap in the study of the GIs effect on the development of trade links, especially for Russian enterprises. The paper applies the gravity model of trade and tests three hypotheses, whether the more protected geographical indications both exporting and importing countries have, the higher the volume of export of GI protected goods going out of this particular country and whether the existence of a trade agreement with specific provisions on the GIs protection increases trade between its members. The findings support one hypothesis that the more protected GIs the exporting country has, the higher the volume of exports of GI protected goods. Based on this result, we analyse the current situation of the GIs protection in Russia and indicate the positive trends in development of the national legislation and modern challenges in the implementation of GIs protection for the national development. The federal and regional support as well as the changes in the business strategies could lead to an increase in the Russian competitiveness. GIs could encourage the brand origin and promote the Russian products on the foreign markets.