IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/unt/jnapdj/v19y2012i2p93-123.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Challenges and opportunities for protecting geographical indications in Thailand

Author

Listed:
  • Chuthaporn Ngokkuen

    (Research Fellow, the Institute for Environmental Economics and World Trade, School of Economics and Management, Leibniz University Hannover, Germany)

  • Ulrike Grote

    (Professor, the Institute for Environmental Economics and World Trade, School of Economics and Management, Leibniz University Hannover, Germany)

Abstract

In this paper, the legal framework for the protection of geographical indications (GIs) in Thailand is analysed and challenges the country has been facing in that regard are discussed. Although the legal protection of GIs is ensured by the World Trade Organization, unresolved issues remain concerning GI protection in Thailand. Biopiracy, existing conflicts of interests concerning different types of intellectual property rights (trademarks and patents versus GIs) and the rise in regional and bilateral trade agreements have created major challenges at the multilateral level. In drawing on GI cases in Thailand, in particular that concerning jasmine rice, an attempt is made to further analyse these challenges to protect genetic resources from the perspective of Thailand. This paper concludes with suggestions on how such challenges can be mitigated and in which direction trade negotiations should be shaped.

Suggested Citation

  • Chuthaporn Ngokkuen & Ulrike Grote, 2012. "Challenges and opportunities for protecting geographical indications in Thailand," Asia-Pacific Development Journal, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), vol. 19(2), pages 93-123, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:unt:jnapdj:v:19:y:2012:i:2:p:93-123
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.unescap.org/sites/default/files/chap-5-Ngokkuen.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Carl Shapiro, 1982. "Consumer Information, Product Quality, and Seller Reputation," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 13(1), pages 20-35, Spring.
    2. Marette, Stephan & Crespi, John M & Schiavina, Allesandra, 1999. "The Role of Common Labelling in a Context of Asymmetric Information," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 26(2), pages 167-178, June.
    3. Tauber, Ramona & Anders, Sven M. & Langinier, Corinne, 2011. "The Economics of Geographical Indications: Welfare Implications," Working Papers 103262, Structure and Performance of Agriculture and Agri-products Industry (SPAA).
    4. Charlier, Christophe & Ngo, Mai-Anh, 2006. "An analysis of the dispute European Communities - Protection of trademarks and geographical indications for agricultural products and foodstuffs," 98th Seminar, June 29-July 2, 2006, Chania, Crete, Greece 10032, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    5. Nelson, Phillip, 1970. "Information and Consumer Behavior," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 78(2), pages 311-329, March-Apr.
    6. Surbhi Jain, 2009. "Effects of the extension of geographical indications: a South Asian perspective," Asia-Pacific Development Journal, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), vol. 16(2), pages 65-86, December.
    7. Tregear, Angela & Kuznesof, Sharron & Moxey, Andrew, 1998. "Policy initiatives for regional foods: some insights from consumer research," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 23(5), pages 383-394, October.
    8. Giovanni Anania & Rosanna Nisticò, 2004. "Public Regulation as a Substitute for Trust in Quality Food Markets: What if the Trust Substitute cannot be Fully Trusted?," Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics (JITE), Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, vol. 160(4), pages 681-701, December.
    9. Carl Shapiro, 1983. "Premiums for High Quality Products as Returns to Reputations," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 98(4), pages 659-679.
    10. George A. Akerlof, 1970. "The Market for "Lemons": Quality Uncertainty and the Market Mechanism," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 84(3), pages 488-500.
    11. Schmalensee, Richard, 1978. "A Model of Advertising and Product Quality," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 86(3), pages 485-503, June.
    12. Stigler, George J., 2011. "Economics of Information," Ekonomicheskaya Politika / Economic Policy, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, vol. 5, pages 35-49.
    13. repec:bla:devpol:v:28:y:2010:i:2:p:217-236 is not listed on IDEAS
    14. Teuber, Ramona, 2007. "Geographical Indications of Origin as a Tool of Product Differentiation: The Case of Coffee," 105th Seminar, March 8-10, 2007, Bologna, Italy 7866, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    15. Grote, Ulrike, 2009. "Environmental Labeling, Protected Geographical Indications and the Interests of Developing Countries," Estey Centre Journal of International Law and Trade Policy, Estey Centre for Law and Economics in International Trade, vol. 10(01), pages 1-17.
    16. Christophe Charlier & Mai-Anh Ngo, 2007. "An analysis of the European Communities : Protection of trademarks and Geographical Indications for Agricultural Products and Foodstuffs Dispute," Post-Print halshs-00423916, HAL.
    17. Beales, Howard & Craswell, Richard & Salop, Steven C, 1981. "The Efficient Regulation of Consumer Information," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 24(3), pages 491-539, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Subir Bairagi & Marie Claire Custodio & Alvaro Durand-Morat & Matty Demont, 2021. "Preserving cultural heritage through the valorization of Cordillera heirloom rice in the Philippines," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 38(1), pages 257-270, February.
    2. Durand, Claire & Fournier, Stéphane, 2017. "Can Geographical Indications Modernize Indonesian and Vietnamese Agriculture? Analyzing the Role of National and Local Governments and Producers’ Strategies," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 93-104.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ngokkuen, Chuthaporn & Grote, Ulrike, 2012. "Geographical Indication for Jasmine Rice: Applying a Logit Model to Predict Adoption Behavior of Thai Farm Households," Quarterly Journal of International Agriculture, Humboldt-Universitaat zu Berlin, vol. 51(2), pages 1-29, May.
    2. Jena, Pradyot R. & Grote, Ulrike, 2012. "Impact Evaluation of Traditional Basmati Rice Cultivation in Uttarakhand State of Northern India: What Implications Does It Hold for Geographical Indications?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(9), pages 1895-1907.
    3. Auriol, Emmanuelle & Schilizzi, Steven G.M., 2015. "Quality signaling through certification in developing countries," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 105-121.
    4. Crespi, John M. & Marette, Stephan, 2003. "Some Economic Implications Of Public Labeling," Journal of Food Distribution Research, Food Distribution Research Society, vol. 34(3), pages 1-12, November.
    5. Franziska Rischkowsky & Thomas Döring, 2008. "Consumer Policy in a Market Economy Considerations from the Perspective of the Economics of Information, the New Institutional Economics as well as Behavioural Economics," Journal of Consumer Policy, Springer, vol. 31(3), pages 285-313, September.
    6. Daniela Benavente, 2010. "The Economics of Geographical Indications: GIs Modelled As Club Assets," IHEID Working Papers 10-2010, Economics Section, The Graduate Institute of International Studies.
    7. Daniela Benavente, 2010. "Geographical Indications: The Economics of Claw-Back," IHEID Working Papers 11-2010, Economics Section, The Graduate Institute of International Studies.
    8. Karsten Mause, 2010. "Considering Market-Based Instruments for Consumer Protection in Higher Education," Journal of Consumer Policy, Springer, vol. 33(1), pages 29-53, March.
    9. Judy E. Scott & Dawn G. Gregg & Jae Hoon Choi, 2015. "Lemon complaints: When online auctions go sour," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 17(1), pages 177-191, February.
    10. Cuffaro, Nadia & Di Giacinto, Marina, 2015. "Credence goods, consumers’ trust in regulation and high quality exports," Bio-based and Applied Economics Journal, Italian Association of Agricultural and Applied Economics (AIEAA), vol. 4(2), pages 1-19, August.
    11. Pecchioli, Bruno & Moroz, David, 2023. "Do geographical appellations provide useful quality signals? The case of Scotch single malt whiskies," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    12. Arfini, Filippo, 1999. "The value of typical products : the case of Prosciutto di Parma and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese," 67th Seminar, October 28-30, 1999, LeMans, France 241032, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    13. Zago, Angelo M. & Pick, Daniel H., 2004. "Labeling Policies in Food Markets: Private Incentives, Public Intervention, and Welfare Effects," Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Western Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 29(01), pages 1-16, April.
    14. Jean‐Sauveur Ay, 2021. "The Informational Content of Geographical Indications," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 103(2), pages 523-542, March.
    15. Rangnekar, Dwijen, 2004. "Demanding Stronger Protection for Geographical Indications: The Relationship between Local Knowledge, Information and Reputation," UNU-INTECH Discussion Paper Series 2004-11, United Nations University - INTECH.
    16. Patrizia Fanasch, 2019. "Survival of the fittest: The impact of eco‐certification and reputation on firm performance," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(4), pages 611-628, May.
    17. Haucap, Justus & Wey, Christian & Barmbold, Jens, 2000. "Location costs, product quality and implicit franchise contracts," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(1), pages 69-87, October.
    18. Vincenzo Asero & Sebastiano Patti, 2009. "Asymmetric Information, Tourist Satisfaction and Quality in Tourism," Annals of the University of Petrosani, Economics, University of Petrosani, Romania, vol. 9(3), pages 5-16.
    19. Welling, Michael & Krebs, Alexander & Graefe, Gernot, 2006. "Pandora's Box: Does Electronic Commerce Increase the Optimal Amount of Fraud," 99th Seminar, February 8-10, 2006, Bonn, Germany 7762, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    20. Carsten Fink & Beata Smarzynska Javorcik & Mariana Spatareanu, 2005. "Income-Related Biases in International Trade: What Do Trademark Registration Data Tell Us?," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 141(1), pages 79-103, April.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Intellectual property; geographical indications; biopiracy; jasmine rice; Thailand;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O13 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Agriculture; Natural Resources; Environment; Other Primary Products
    • O34 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Intellectual Property and Intellectual Capital
    • Q17 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Agriculture in International Trade
    • Q18 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Agricultural Policy; Food Policy; Animal Welfare Policy

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:unt:jnapdj:v:19:y:2012:i:2:p:93-123. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Macroeconomic Policy and Development Division, ESCAP (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/escapth.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.