Designations of Origin and the Peruvian Cuisine

The prestige of certain products should be, in the majority of cases, that they are linked to a particular origin or geographical origin. This is due to the fact that these products have special features that can be attributed precisely to its geographical origin, recognizing that it offers some special circumstances of production and elaboration that gives them a peculiar seal.

Designations of Origin are designations of geographical origin incorporated in the strict sense by names that identify a geographical area, independent of what is its extension and whose quality or feature of which are due exclusively or essentially to the geographical environment, including natural and human factors.

They can also be constituted by a denomination that, without being properly the geographical name of a region or locality, denotes a geographical origin certain and unequivocal when applied to a particular product. The traditional appellations can be assimilated to designations of origin for legal purposes, and they can be recognized and protected in the same way.

Between the geographical origin and the characteristics of the product designated by the name, there is a close connection, called the bond of quality or qualitative link. Also these product characteristics are represented by two types of factors: one human and a natural one.

Human factors relate to those on which the man has a direct influence, as the techniques and traditional knowledge applied to products or procedures in the development, cultivation etc.; cultural practices of the place of origin of the products among others.

On the other hand, the natural factors are represented principally by the composition of the soil or land, climate, altitude, the decline, the winds the presence of animal and plant species, the topographic and hydrographic aspects among others.

Es por ello que el 22 de abril de este año, el Instituto Nacional de Defensa de la Competencia y Protección de la Propiedad Intelectual, en colaboración con el chef Flavio Solórzano Álvarez, ha publicado el libro «Recetas de origen». Esta publicación es un esfuerzo para traer a las manos de los lectores una visión de lo que una Denominación de Origen (DO) significa, entendido como un «signo distintivo», que es un reconocimiento otorgado por el Estado a través del Indecopi, que se utiliza para declarar el carácter único que el origen geográfico y condiciones culturales confieren a un producto,  así como promoverlas a través de su uso en nuestro arte culinario, logrando la inclusión de cada uno de ellos a la vida de los peruanos.

Author: Jesús Cuba – Intellectual Property Specialist
Law Firm: OMC Abogados & Consultores