Alicante Will Host a Geographical Indications Conference for Delegates From More Than 30 Countries

Alicante will host an international conference on November 5 and 6 aimed at expanding cooperation on geographical indications, a system used to protect products whose quality or reputation is linked to a specific place of origin.

The meeting, organized by Origen España and oriGIn in collaboration with the European Union Intellectual Property Office, will take place at EUIPO headquarters and is expected to bring together representatives from more than 30 countries. According to the organizers, attendees will include officials from intellectual property offices, regulatory councils, producer associations and international institutions.

The conference comes as governments and producer groups are placing greater attention on the role of geographical indications in trade, rural development and product protection. In the European Union, the system covers food, wine and spirits, and it is increasingly being discussed for craft and industrial goods as well. Supporters say these labels help producers defend product names, enter new markets and preserve traditional methods. They also argue that stronger protection can support employment and economic activity in rural areas.

The Alicante conference is designed to review the results of cooperation projects developed over the past 20 years and to identify new priorities. Organizers said the sessions will focus on how international cooperation can help producer groups, improve enforcement, widen market access and respond to issues such as sustainability, climate pressures and the weakening of rural economies.

Among the scheduled participants are João Negrão, executive director of EUIPO; Riccardo Deserti, president of oriGIn; Ángel Pacheco, president of Origen España; and Paolo De Castro, a former Italian agriculture minister and former member of the European Parliament. Representatives from the World Intellectual Property Organization, the European Commission and national intellectual property offices are also expected to take part, alongside regulatory councils and producer groups from Europe, Latin America, Asia and the Caribbean.

The program includes four panel discussions. The first will examine why international cooperation on geographical indications matters and what has been learned from two decades of joint projects. The second will focus on the needs of agricultural, wine and spirits producers, including market access, visibility, digital tools and sustainability. A third panel will address the craft and industrial geographical indication sector, where questions of governance, protection and control systems remain under debate in many countries. A final roundtable is expected to look at future cooperation projects, including coordination between institutions, funding priorities and support models for producer associations.

The agenda also includes a field visit in Jijona on November 5 to the protected geographical indications for Jijona and Turrón de Alicante, as well as a visit to the Turrón Museum and production facilities tied to those products. The inclusion of that visit underscores the local significance of geographical indications in Alicante province, where turrón remains one of the best-known traditional foods linked to origin-based protection.

In a statement released before the event, Pacheco said the gathering would provide a chance for countries to exchange knowledge and advance the recognition and protection of geographical indications. He said international cooperation is essential for supporting producers, adding value to products and contributing to local development.

Origen España said it will also hold its fall general assembly in Alicante on November 4, one day before the conference opens. That meeting is expected to bring together representatives of the group’s member entities to discuss current issues and future work.

The Spanish association said it was created in 2008 to promote the role of protected designations of origin and protected geographical indications in the country’s agri-food sector. It says it has 100 members and represents 85.10% of the economic value of Spanish agri-food geographical indications, with a market value of more than €2.1 billion.

The Alicante meeting will be held in English, with interpretation available in several languages, and will also be accessible online. Organizers have presented it as both a review of past cooperation efforts and a working session for new ones, as producer groups and public institutions seek broader international recognition and more consistent protection for names tied to place, tradition and local production.