Last June of 2004, by means of a resolution issued by the Intellectual Property Registry, El Salvador became the tenth Latin-American country recognizing PISCO as a Peruvian Guarantee of Origin and Quality.

The name PISCO is given to the Peruvian grape’s liquor obtained from distillation of fresh stocks from the exclusive fermentation of the grape juice. This is developed in the producer areas in the south coast of Peru, previously recognized and classified as such, in the manufacturing rules, following traditional practices between their producers.

On the other hand, Guarantee of Origin and Quality – according to definitions of International Treaties and our Trademark and Other Distinctive Signs Law – is: “The geographic denomination of a country, a region or a location that serves to designate a product that originates from it and of which quality or character is due exclusively or essentially to the geographic environment, such as natural and human factors."

For a Guarantee of Origin and Quality is deemed as such, it must meet 3 essential requirements as follows:

  a) The Guarantee of Origin and Quality must be the geographical name of a country, region or 
      location;

  b) The Guarantee of Origin and Quality must serve to designate a product that comes from this
      country, region or location; and

   c) A link of quality between the manufactured product and the country, region or location from  
      which it comes must exists. Such link by itself must be due exclusively or essentially to the   
      geographic environment where the product will be produced, this refers to the natural factors,
      like the soil, water and climate, and the human factors like the traditional techniques of
      production.

Without one of these 3 requirements, a product could not being deemed nor recognized as a Guarantee of Origin and Quality. Even though the product meets two of the three requirements pointed out, which also are part of the criteria given by World Intellectual Property Organization and adopted by every international treaty specialized in that matter, as with Lisbon Agreement relative to the Protection of Guarantee of Origin and Quality and its international registration and the Agreements of World Trade Organization about Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, related to trade.

In this way, PISCO meets every mentioned point, since Guarantee of Origin and Quality – as we know it nowadays – comes from several complementary sources or origins that join in one only result: the PISCO name for grape juice liquor, which is manufactured in the south coast of Peru, specifically in departments Lima, Ica, Arequipa, Moquegua, Lucumba and the Sama and Caplina Valleys in the Tacna department.

In fact, the PISCO origin starts in pre-Columbus epoch, when natives in the area – influenced by Inca conquer – adopted the Quechua as language, from which they used the names PISCKU, PISCCU, PHISHGO or PICCHIU, to refer the birds that, even today, inhabits that area.
The amount of birds, then, made the local people to name PISCO to that area, name kept even after the Spanish arrival, and this can be proved by the first Peruvian known map, dated 1574, where the location of PISCO can be checked, located to the south of the City of the Kings, in Lima gulf. Besides that, another source about Guarantee of Origin and Quality, we can find it in the natives that inhabited the south area in Peru, descendant from Paracas culture and known because of their textiles and ceramics.

From this culture, derives the PISKOS cast, who specializes in manufacture of clay recipients. Ceramist producers named these recipients with their own name, starting to store in them the grape juice liquor that was manufactured in the area. As time elapsed, the liquor was identified with the name of recipient, adopting the name, as we know it nowadays. The junction of the above mentioned factors configures the existence of requirements a) and b); while weather conditions of area (hot during day and cool at night), besides of traditional procedures that for centuries have been used for its manufacturing, makes PISCO to have a close link of quality regarding the geographical area where it is developed, meeting this way the third requirement.

With the registration of Guarantee of Origin and Quality PISCO as Peruvian, El Salvador enters the XXI century with the right step in Intellectual Property Protection in the world, sending a positive message that we lack for years: being a country respectful of Intellectual Property Rights, message that at this time brings great importance up front to release and globalization of International Trade of goods and services, thanks to the multiple Free Trade Agreements in our continent.

In Romero Pineda & Associates, we are proud of succeeding in the registration of Guarantee of Origin and Quality PISCO as Peruvian, which at the same time enforces us to keep fighting for Intellectual Property Protection in our country.