Geographical Indications: Establishing and applying an effective protection system in the EAC countries

An effective protection of GIs can ensure that the characteristics and the reputation of products are adequately priced in the market as well as ensure that fraud, consumer confusion and the misuse of GIs are avoided. The issue paper reveals that the EAC countries already have fair legal frameworks which can be used for the protection of GIs, nonetheless, apart from a few exceptions, no GIs have been registered so far.