Alt Legal WebinarGI-ography Lesson: Expansions and Limitations of Geographical Indications
Alt Legal Team | April 26, 2026
This webinar was recorded on June 11, 2026.
Disputes over names like Champagne, Parmesan, and Scotch illustrate the growing importance of geographical indications (GI), which protect product names tied to specific regions and traditions. As governments expand GI protection beyond food and beverages to crafts, industrial goods, and other cultural products, brand owners are increasingly confronting questions about how these place-based rights interact with trademarks and cross-border commerce.
Join Alt Legal for a webinar where Professor Janewa Osei-Tutu of the University of Miami explores how GI protection is evolving globally—from protection for foods, wines, and spirits to emerging protections for non-food items—and what those developments mean for trademarks, cultural heritage, and international transactions, including:
- The expansion of GI protection to non-food items such as crafts and industrial products
- The relationship between geographical indications and intangible cultural heritage
- The interaction between geographical indications and trademark protection
- The role of geographical indications and trademarks in cross-border transactions
View webinar recording here (free registration required.)
Download presentation materials here.
Speaker Bio
Janewa Osei-Tutu, Professor of Law at University of Miami
Professor J. Janewa Osei-Tutu teaches Trademark Law, Intellectual property & Intangible Cultural Heritage, and Contract Law. She publishes widely on intellectual property law and international law. Her current research explores trademarks, the right of publicity, geographical indications and intangible cultural heritage. Her scholarship has appeared in publications from Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, and leading U.S. law journals. Professor Osei-Tutu practiced as an attorney at the Canadian Patent and Trademark Office and the Intellectual Property Policy Directorate at Industry Canada, where she advised the government on patent and trademark office matters, trademark litigation, copyright legislative reform, official submissions to international organizations, and participated as legal counsel on bilateral trade negotiations with the EU on wines and geographical indications. She serves as the co-chair of the Intellectual Property Committee for the American Branch of the International Law Association and has held leadership or committee roles in the American Intellectual Property Law Association, the International Trademark Association, and the Association of American Law Schools. She has been licensed to practice law in both Ontario, Canada and New York.