Geographical indications: the aspects of rural development and marketing through the traditional products

A geographical indication (GI), which is one of the intellectual property rights, is a sign used on goods that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities, reputation or characteristics that are essentially attributable to that origin (WIPO, 2012). In general, GIs draw attention to product quality, local identity and cultural traditions such as Champagne, Cuban Cigars, Roquefort Cheese, Turkish Carpet etc. GIs provide differentiated and high value-added products to local producers in the rural areas while the willingness of the purchasing these kind of traditional products are high. The way of benefit from the marketing power of GIs is an effective registration system and also active marketing process is required to gain a place in domestic and world market. In the context of rural development and marketing, the purpose of this study is to investigate the application of GIs in Turkey along with famous examples around the world and to raise the awareness of the importance of GI for the rural development. (C) 2012 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and/or peer review under responsibility of Prof. Dr. Huseyin Arasli