Industry Rep. Says Food Label ‘Clawback’ Hurts US Trade

Marney Cheek’s remarks made at the American Bar Association’s Annual Intellectual Property Conference are quoted in this Law360 article discussing the overbearing rules that “claw back” food names. According to Cheek, geographical indications often serve as “trade barriers” to geographically descriptive foods that have become generic to consumers, such as Parmesan cheese. “It’s creating a lot of market uncertainty and it's making GIs a really high-stakes game because you can get protection for a very specific GI, but in some jurisdictions that can [extend] much broader protection, which leaves other competing products out of the market,” she said.