Megan Carpenter is an internationally recognized IP scholar and the former Dean of the University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law, one of the top IP law schools in the US. After eight years leading the school, she recently stepped down, climbed Kilimanjaro, and is now traveling the globe visiting sake breweries, wine regions, and trade associations to research her next book on geographical indications.
In this episode, Megan joins David Breitenbach, CCO at PatentRenewal.com, to break down one of the most underused and least understood tools in IP: geographical indications, and what they reveal about the future of place, authenticity, and global trade.
They discuss why a GI is a collective right owned by a community rather than a company, how a 24th-generation sake brewery in Yamagata uses GI protection to build trust in export markets, why climate change is turning wine into a "canary in the coal mine" for place-based IP, and why the word "Prosecco" nearly held up an entire EU-Australia trade agreement.
In this episode, you'll learn:
◼️ What a geographical indication actually is - and how it differs from a trademark
◼️ Why GI creation can be both top-down and bottom-up, using Japan's prefecture system as an example
◼️ How a 24th-generation sake brewery uses GI to signal authenticity to export markets
◼️ Why climate change is reshaping champagne, Bordeaux, coffee, and olive oil regions
◼️ Why wine is a "canary in the coal mine" for the future of place-based IP
◼️ What producers are actually worried about: oversupply and generational shifts in demand
◼️ Why emerging regions should build flexibility into GI systems instead of locking in identity too early
◼️ How a for-profit company should use GI alongside trademarks and patents, not instead of them
◼️ Why the "Prosecco" dispute nearly derailed the EU-Australia free trade agreement
◼️ Why IP professionals need to think holistically instead of working in legal silos
00:00 Intro: the most misunderstood tool in IP
01:00 Stepping down as dean, and climbing Kilimanjaro
06:00 The new book: how a place turns identity into value
10:00 GI 101: geographical indications vs trademarks
14:00 Who creates a GI? Inside Japan's prefecture system
17:00 Sake in Yamagata: craft, process, and a 24th-generation brewery
20:00 Why GIs win the export market: storytelling and taxonomy
24:00 Can champagne still be champagne? Climate and the "canary in the coal mine"
30:00 What producers actually worry about: oversupply and a generational shift
34:00 Advice for emerging regions: build in flexibility, time it right
38:00 How a for-profit company should actually use GI
40:00 Rapid fire: niche, static, and the Prosecco standoff
44:00 Thinking holistically: why IP doesn't fit in neat boxes
50:00 Optimism, pessimism, and IP's own "IP problem"
Follow Megan:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/megancarpenter/
Join PatentRenewal.com's circle on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/patentrenewalcom/
Follow David:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-breitenbach/
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Our website: https://patentrenewal.com/
About us
At PatentRenewal.com, we believe IP renewals should be simple, transparent, and stress-free. We care about innovation and about making IP easier to understand and easier to use. That's why we created Talk IP to me, the podcast that brings fresh conversations to the world of intellectual property. In each episode, innovators, IP experts, founders, and legal minds share real stories, hard-won lessons, and practical insights you can actually apply in your work.
Our goal is simple: make IP feel human, practical, and accessible.
