The "Law to Use the Mark the DelPaís," Act 195-2016: Case Study of a Puerto Rican Certification Mark with Potential of Becoming a Geographic Indication for Economic Development

In 2016, the Puerto Rican Congress codified the “Law for the use of the DelPaís Mark” (the DelPaís Law), creating a composite certification mark called Productos DelPaís de Puerto Rico (the DelPaís Mark) for raw fruits, milk, honey, meats, egg, fish, ornamental plants, spices, vegetables, starches, and value-added products. The Puerto Rican Department of Agriculture intended the DelPaís Mark to function as a certification mark and Geographical Indication (GI) to differentiate local from imported products to promote purchasing of locally produced items and eventually export internationally. A GI is a source identifier identifying that a place makes a particular product with unique characteristics, so there is a higher consumer’s recognition and willingness to buy such products and help these communities’ economic development. Despite the Department’s efforts, the DelPaís Mark deters positive economic growth of small and medium enterprises, failing as a Certification Mark and potential GI. The cases of Café de Colombia, Hawaiian Kona Coffee, Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee, and Tequila de Mexico derive Five Factors predominating in GI policies. These are Product Definition, Collective Organization, Marketing, Legal-Institutional Framework, and Economic Impact. Some issues found in the DelPaís Law range from inconsistent marketing, vague administrative procedures, lack of product definitions, disorganized support, and limited economic impact. Recommendations serve as guidelines for uniformity in production, marketing plan, organizing supply chain, financial and technical aid, a cooperative food hub, and recording data to measure progress and attract investors for the existing certification mark and creating a GI.

2016年，波多黎各议会正式颁布《德爾帕伊斯商标使用法》（DelPaís Law），设立了一款名为“波多黎各本土产品（Productos DelPaís de Puerto Rico，即德爾帕伊斯商标）”的复合认证商标，覆盖生鲜水果、奶类、蜂蜜、肉类、禽蛋、水产、观赏植物、香辛料、蔬菜、淀粉制品及增值加工产品等品类。波多黎各农业部门旨在将德爾帕伊斯商标打造为认证商标与地理标志（Geographical Indication，GI），用以区分本土产品与进口商品，推动本土产品的本地采购，并最终助力其拓展国际出口市场。地理标志是一种来源标识，用于表明某一特定产品产自特定地域且具备独特品质特征，此举可提升消费者对该类产品的认知度与购买意愿，进而助力相关社区的经济发展。尽管该部门付出诸多努力，德爾帕伊斯商标不仅未能发挥认证商标与潜在地理标志的应有作用，反而阻碍了中小企业的良性经济增长。哥伦比亚咖啡、夏威夷科纳咖啡、牙买加蓝山咖啡以及墨西哥龙舌兰酒的成功实践，提炼出地理标志政策中的五大核心要素，分别为产品定义、集体组织架构、市场营销、法律-制度框架以及经济影响。德爾帕伊斯商标法现存的问题包括市场营销策略缺乏统一性、行政程序模糊不清、产品定义缺失、扶持体系杂乱无章以及经济影响有限。相关建议可为现有认证商标的生产标准化、市场营销规划、供应链整合、金融与技术帮扶、合作食品枢纽建设，以及建立数据记录体系以衡量进展、吸引投资者的工作提供行动指引，同时助力地理标志的创建与落地。