Honduras grants Denomination of Origin ‘tequila’ to Mexico

Tequila the oldest denomination of origin (DO) in Latin America has been successfully registered at the Patent and Trade Mark Office in Honduras.

Honduras is a Member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS) forms part of its domestic legislation. To this effect, the Honduran Law on Industrial Property, Decree No. 12-99-E affords protection in the form of denomination of origin, and prohibits the use, in the trading of goods, of a false or misleading appellation of origin.

Note that Honduras has one single protection regime for geographical indications, contained in the Industrial Property Law, Decree No. 12-99-E, mainly Chapter V, Articles 123 to 133, and Decree No. 16-2006, the Law to Implement the Free Trade Agreement between the Dominican Republic, Central America and the United States, Section III, Articles 14 and 15.

No more than one domestic DO has been registered: MARCALA, for coffee grown in a particular geographical area of Honduras.

This year two Tequila's drink were awarded golden and silver medals for spirit drinks by the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles. Others countries where this DO has been registered are: Canada, UE, China, Ecuador and Uruguay.