A study of crafts income single and puntino ad ago

collective brand or geographical indication?

Abstract

The Singeleza handcrafted laces, produced in some of the municipalities of Alagoas state, and the Puntino ad Ago, found in Latronico, in the Basilicata region, south of Italy, are considered “twins” given to the great similarity of their patterns and production technique. Beyond the physical similarities of the arts-crafts, it can be identified in both locations, considered to as poor regions in their respective countries: limited production due to complaints about low demand from the “rendeiras” (lance makers), cultural heritage as a positioning strategy, and increased lack of interest in learning the technique, which threatens the preservation of the lace makers “how-to”.  This paper presents a comparative study, after face-to-face meetings with the groups of Brazilian and Italian artisans, through the qualitative, applied, descriptive research method, at first, and exploratory as to the preliminary analysis of the viability of geographical indication (GI) records and/or collective brand (CB) for Singeleza income, as a market repositioning strategy for regional development, based on the Italian experience. Finally, the study finds that in Italy, in the case of non-food products, CB performs the same function as GI in Brazil, concluding that for Singeleza, the registration of CB is first indicated in preparation for a subsequent GI request.

Keywords: Singeleza de Alagoas. Puntino ad Ago di Latronico. Industrial Property. Regional Development. Geographical Indication. Collective Brand.