EC foresees existing legal mechanisms separate from U.S. trademark law in order to ensure the protection of European geographic names for food and beverages under the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) The EU proposal finds three options for employing protection to GIs. The first option is using “standards of identification” established by several US regulators including FDA, USDA and TTB. Under this option, if the standards of identification are not met, the Food and Drug Cosmetic act will define that food as “misbranded.” The other two options which EU wants to enshrine in the final text are labelling requirements, and to protect against fraud under the US Federal Trade Commission. The EU has already submitted roughly a list of 200 GIs which EU wants the US to protect under the agreement. The faults under the existing US trademarks law are making the alternate options more attractive. In absence of similar precedents, doubts exist whether the FDA has legal authority to issue regulations on standards of identification. The EC officials have further made it clear that they are not calling upon US to replicate its system of GI register, hinting that exploring alternate options listed in its proposal as its possible approach for future course. The gLAWcal Team LIBEAC project Thursday, 5 February 2014 (Source: Inside US Trade)