Mint Quick Edit | Pisco tussle: Whose spirit is it anyway?

4 months ago 7

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Pisco is a grape-based spirit that both Peru and Chile claim as part of their heritage.

Summary

Peru and Chile have been waging a battle in Indian courts over Pisco, a grape-based spirit, as a geographical indication. Should its GI tag be shared or awarded solely to its authentic claimant? Perhaps a market survey can help.

It’s not often that two countries slug it out in Indian courts. Peru and Chile have been having a go at each other over a geographical indication (GI), which lets a product use a specified name only if it comes from a country or region deemed to be its authentic producer.

The idea is to keep pretenders out. Their fight is over Pisco, a grape-based spirit that both claim as part of their heritage. Peru had first asked for it to be registered as its exclusive GI, but since Chile objected, its product was given the tag Peruvian Pisco. Viewing this as a dilution of its brand, Peru has been fighting for exclusivity, even as Indian adjudication has gone back and forth at various levels.

On Thursday, Peru took a blow as the Delhi high court denied it interim relief in its challenge of a July ruling that asked for a GI reset to Peruvian Pisco from just Pisco and thus made retail space for Chilean Pisco. The dispute goes back to 2005, when Peru first applied for GI protection. The case is listed for hearing next month.

The spirit’s name may or may not eventually be shared, but perhaps a dipstick survey of its consumers could reveal which country the real version is identified with—if we can find enough of them.

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