During the session of the Parliament of Businessmen in the extended capacity in the Regional Chamber of Commerce of the administrative districts of Zaječar and Bor, lectures and discussions were held at the topic “The Role of Intellectual Property in the Branding of Agricultural and Food Products”.
The event was held on March 14, 2024, in the organization of the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia – the Regional Chamber of Commerce of the Districts of Zaječar and Bor.
Associations for the plant production and food industry – Groups for the counselling and transfer of knowledge in the field of agriculture, in cooperation with the Intellectual Property Office of the Republic of Serbia, organized the event. The aim of the lecture was raising awareness about the importance of intellectual property rights for the improvement of the agricultural and food sector, for institutions and business subjects that want affirmation for their products and services through the protection of intellectual property rights.
In the course of the session, the participants were addressed by Mr. Dejan Tošić, Director of the Chamber of Commerce – PKS RPK Zaječar, and, after that, the representatives of the Intellectual Property Office of the Republic of Serbia gave presentations about the intellectual property rights relevant for the building of branding and recognizability of products from the region, that are covered by the Chamber of Commerce RPK Zaječar, primarily discussing the role of trademarks and indications of geographical origin. There are several registered indications of geographical origin of this region, such as “Honey from Rtanj Mountain”, “Tea from Rtanj Mountain”, “Hard Cheese from Old Mountain” and other indications for wines, while Mr. Tošić mentioned that it might be necessary to renew the status of the authorized users for the registered appellation of origin “Tea from Rtanj Mountain”.
At the end of the session, the attendees were addressed by the Mr. Goran Jović, Director of the Chamber of Commerce – RPK of the Districts of Jablanica and Pčinj, who stated, as an example of the fair practice, also the four indications of geographical origin. “Barbecue Meat from Leskovac”, Home-Made Ajvar from Leskovac”, “Sprža from Leskovac” and recently registered “Ljutenica from Leskovac” – that contribute not only to the affirmation of those products, but also to that region. He has emphasized that it is not easy to protect authentic products from some region, primarily due to the lack of knowledge how it may be done in the small agricultural farms – producers, so for the implementation of protection it is necessary to join forces, because only in such a way it is possible to bring to the market products which secure better prosperity of the local community. To succeed in doing so, it is necessary to have support of various institutions both in the financial aspect and through the transfer of experience for already registered indications of geographical origin.
