The United States offers protection for GIs, whether of domestic or foreign origin, registered or unregistered. [13] In the United States, Certification trademarks have been utilized to protect GIs. [14] Examples of geographical indications protected as Certification Marks in the United States include DARJEELING for tea and ROQUEFORT for cheese.

Indeed, Certification Marks are and have been utilized in various countries, including India, but only a minority of countries globally. These marks are used to “certify” the nature or origin of the goods or services, including as to region or location, method or mode of manufacture, standard of performance, quality, accuracy, etc. as well as to identify goods/ services provided by a particular union or association. Such marks cannot be owned by the person and/or company trading in the actual goods and/or services and must fulfill certain regulations, maintain certain certification standards and face more limitations than encountered by the owner of a standard trade or service mark. Certification Marks, for example, may be required to be assignable only with governmental consent and/or be granted only if the mark is in the public interest. In practice, Certification Marks provide cost-effective value only in a handful of special situations such as the UNDERWRITERS LABORATORY logo in the United States and DARJEELING tea in India. Traditional trademarks are much more important to the business owner who wishes to foster brand recognition in the marketplace for his or her own particular goods and/or services.