Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- The Law on Geographical Indications also became the center of discussion at the twenty-third plenary session of the upper house of parliament.

It was noted that in our country the system of protection of intellectual property objects has been improved, based on the fact that the development of the sphere of intellectual property is the main factor in the integration of our country into the world community.

In accordance with the national legislation in the field of intellectual property, one of the tools for the development of regional brands is the appellations of origin of goods that are objects of intellectual property. This is inextricably linked with administrative-territorial units, natural objects, including geographical objects.

The analysis shows that only 4 appellations of origin of goods are registered in Uzbekistan, of which only 2 are domestic producers, and the remaining 2 are foreign.

This situation indicates that this area of intellectual property does not have sufficient opportunities for the promotion and development of products specific to this territory on the territory of Uzbekistan, especially in the field of agriculture and handicrafts.

Regional brands remain underdeveloped in the country due to the lack of strict requirements for appellations of origin.

The Law “On Geographical Indications” discussed by the senators for the first time reflects the concept of “geographical indication”.

A geographical indication is a designation that identifies a product as originating in the territory of a certain geographical area, where the quality, reputation or other characteristics of the product depend to a large extent on its geographical origin.

It is established that a geographical indication may be registered at the request of several legal or natural persons located in this geographical object, the name of which is used to designate the goods produced, in the absence of other interested persons, an application for registration may be submitted by one legal or natural person.

This Law will help increase the number of manufacturers wishing to register a mark for their unique products and, most importantly, the development of regional brands.

And this allows manufacturers to supply their products to domestic and foreign markets with added value, protected by a geographical indication.

In addition, according to the senators, the increase in the tourist flow to the regions, the development of "gastronomic tourism", as well as the increase in the tourist attractiveness of the regions is connected precisely with this Law.

Members of the Senate approved this Act.