\u201cAll that glisters is not gold.\u201d
\n\u2013 William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice<\/p>\n
Two objects may look much the same and yet command very different prices. One canvas is by a celebrated artist; another is from the artist\u2019s studio; a third is a skilful fake. One bottle contains sparkling wine from Champagne; another contains excellent sparkling wine made elsewhere. The difference is not always tangible. Often, it lies in provenance: the trustworthy account of where something came from, who made it and how it reached us.<\/p>\n
Provenance is part evidence, part reputation and part story. When it is credible, it can justify premium pricing, reassure buyers and give customers a reason to return. When provenance turns suspect, the deal can become stinkier than a ripe Brie de Meaux. Intellectual property can help protect that value, but no single right does the whole job.<\/p>\n
Provenance reduces uncertainty. A buyer who trusts the origin of a product can make a more confident choice, whether bidding at auction or browsing the cheese counter. It also turns an object or ingredient into something more than a commodity. The buyer acquires a connection to a particular maker, landscape, tradition or community.<\/p>\n
That confidence can support a higher price. It can also foster loyalty. Customers who understand why a product is distinctive are more likely to seek it out again, recommend it and resist cheaper substitutes. Provenance therefore operates as both a quality signal and a narrative asset. The strongest businesses do not merely assert an origin; they make it verifiable.<\/p>\n
\u201cNowadays people know the price of everything and the value of nothing.\u201d
\n\u2013 Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray<\/p>\n
In the art market, attribution can alter value dramatically. A work described as \u201cby\u201d a great artist is in a different commercial category from one described as \u201cattributed to\u201d, \u201cfrom the studio of\u201d, \u201cfrom the circle of\u201d or \u201cin the manner of\u201d that artist. The paint may have aged equally gracefully, but the words on the catalogue page carry considerable weight.<\/p>\n
Useful evidence can come from several directions: records showing who owned the work and when, such as invoices, receipts and correspondence; records linking the work to the art world, such as exhibition catalogues, gallery labels and photographs; and assessments by specialists, including expert opinions and scientific testing of the pigments, canvas or other materials. Researchers may also consult a catalogue raisonn\u00e9<\/em> \u2013 a scholarly list of works accepted as being by a particular artist \u2013 and examine signatures, although a signature alone proves very little. None is necessarily decisive alone. Together, they may form a convincing trail from studio to sale room.<\/p>\n Copyright may protect an artwork and control reproductions, but only for a limited period. In New Zealand, copyright in an artistic work generally lasts for the artist\u2019s life plus 50 years. Pablo Picasso died in 1973, so his works generally left copyright in New Zealand at the end of 2023. In countries where the usual term is life plus 70 years, including Australia and the European Union, those works may remain protected until the end of 2043. The detail can become more complicated for anonymous works, unpublished works and different countries of origin, which is another reminder that IP rights do not travel with one universal expiry date. More fundamentally, copyright ownership is not ownership of the physical painting, and copyright does not prove who painted it.<\/p>\n That does not make an older work a creative free-for-all. Anyone planning to be \u201cinspired by\u201d an artwork \u2013 and especially anyone intending to copy it directly \u2013 should check what may lawfully be used in each relevant country. Copyright may have expired, but a vigilant artist\u2019s estate or foundation may still rely on trade marks, passing off \u2013 a claim aimed at stopping misleading use of another trader\u2019s reputation \u2013 consumer protection law, contractual controls over access to images, or rights in a particular photograph or authorised reproduction. Calling something a tribute will not close an IP loophole if the result trades on the artist\u2019s name, reputation or distinctive branding.<\/p>\n \u201cTo be an artist is to believe in life.\u201d Trade marks may protect an artist\u2019s name, a studio or foundation brand, or a trusted authentication service. Contract, consumer protection and fraud rules may also become relevant when a false attribution is made. The practical lesson is that provenance needs both evidence and careful representations; a famous signature is not a magic wand.<\/p>\n For food and drink, provenance often centres on country or region of origin and the qualities associated with it. Climate, soil, local breeds, raw materials and accumulated know-how can all contribute. Champagne is not simply a synonym for sparkling wine: it denotes wine from the Champagne region of France made in accordance with the applicable rules. Feta likewise has protected status in the European Union as a Greek protected designation of origin, tied to its place, ingredients and production method.<\/p>\n These names do commercial work. They allow qualifying producers to pool the reputation of a region while maintaining standards that protect it. A customer may pay more not just for fermented grape juice or white brined cheese, but for an authenticated place, method and tradition. If standards slip, or outsiders free-ride on the name, the shared reputation is diluted.<\/p>\n \u201cIn vino veritas.\u201d In wine, there is truth. A registered trade mark can be an excellent way to protect the distinctive badge under which provenance is communicated. The difficulty is that the most useful word may be the name of the place itself. Place names are often refused as ordinary trade marks when they describe geographical origin, need to remain available to other traders or would mislead consumers. The more clearly the name tells the provenance story, the harder it may be for one trader to monopolise it: a tidy little catch-22.<\/p>\n A distinctive composite brand may fare better. A producer might register an invented name, a stylised label or a device featuring a pastoral scene. However, the scope follows what is registered. Protection for one pastoral scene will not normally prevent a competitor from using a materially different pastoral scene. Nor does registration of a house brand necessarily give control over the geographic words appearing within it.<\/p>\n Distinctive branding should therefore sit alongside, rather than substitute for, systems that protect origin itself. It is also worth considering whether packaging, label artwork, product get-up \u2013 the product\u2019s overall visual appearance and presentation \u2013 copyright, registered designs, confidential production know-how and contracts have supporting roles.<\/p>\n \u201cArt is what you can get away with.\u201d A geographical indication, or GI, identifies goods as coming from a territory, region or locality where a quality, reputation or other characteristic is essentially attributable to that origin. Unlike an ordinary trade mark, a GI is generally a collective right. It is available to producers who satisfy the rules rather than belonging exclusively to one business.<\/p>\n Appellation systems are a more rule-bound member of the same family. An appellation is a legally controlled name for a product from a defined place that meets prescribed production standards. France\u2019s appellation d\u2019origine contr\u00f4l\u00e9e<\/em>, or AOC, is one example. At European level, protected designation of origin and protected geographical indication schemes distinguish different strengths of connection between the product and its place. Certification marks offer another route. The owner sets standards and authorises compliant producers to use the mark, while remaining responsible for oversight rather than using the mark as an ordinary trader.<\/p>\n Protection is territorial, and familiar names can lead surprisingly different lives from one market to another. The following examples illustrate some of the main differences rather than providing an exhaustive guide:<\/p>\n European Union:<\/strong> the EU operates dedicated GI schemes. Feta is registered as a Greek PDO, or protected designation of origin. In plain English, that means the product must come from the named region and its ingredients and production must meet the applicable rules. Champagne is protected as a wine designation. PDO status generally requires the strongest connection with place, including regional raw materials and production. A PGI, or protected geographical indication, requires a less extensive connection: the product must still have a quality, reputation or other characteristic linked to the region, but only one important stage of production, processing or preparation needs to take place there.<\/p>\n New Zealand:<\/strong> the GI register historically focused on wines and spirits, including names such as Marlborough and Champagne. Since the New Zealand\u2013EU Free Trade Agreement entered into force in 2024, New Zealand also protects a large group of EU GIs across food and beverages. That substantially changes the position for some terms that local traders may once have treated as descriptive.<\/p>\n United States:<\/strong> GIs are commonly protected through the trade mark system, particularly certification marks and collective marks \u2013 marks used by members of an association or other group. ROQUEFORT can certify cheese of the relevant French origin; domestic examples include IDAHO for potatoes and VIDALIA for onions. The legal mechanism differs from the EU model even when the commercial message \u2013 \u201cthis comes from there and meets these standards\u201d \u2013 is similar.<\/p>\n Australia:<\/strong> GIs have been protected through certification trade marks and a separate wine regime. DARJEELING and SCOTCH WHISKY are examples of certification marks, while Champagne is protected for wine. Under the Australia\u2013EU trade arrangements announced in 2026, Australia agreed to protect hundreds of additional EU GIs, but negotiated different outcomes for particular terms: continued free use for parmesan, continued use by certain existing Feta producers under \u201cgrandfathering\u201d arrangements, phasing out for Ouzo, and a specific accommodation for Prosecco as a grape variety. Same pantry, different legal labels.<\/p>\n These differences matter at the planning stage. A name available for use in one country may be restricted in another, and a term protected by a bespoke GI regime in one market may depend on certification mark registration or consumer protection law elsewhere. Translations, words or images that evoke a protected place without naming it directly, and qualifiers such as \u201cstyle\u201d, \u201ctype\u201d or \u201cmethod\u201d may also be treated differently. An export label should therefore travel with legal advice, not merely a passport.<\/p>\n For a business seeking to turn origin into durable value, the following questions are a useful starting point:<\/p>\n Provenance can transform a product from interchangeable to inimitable \u2013 at least in the mind of the customer. It can support premium pricing, loyalty and a reputation that passes from one generation to the next. But the story must be true, the standards must be maintained and the legal protection must fit the market.<\/p>\n For artists, producers and regions alike, the most valuable question may not be simply \u201cWhat is it?\u201d but \u201cWhere did it come from, and can you prove it?\u201d The answer is where provenance stops being a charming backstory and starts becoming an asset.<\/p>\n If provenance forms part of your product\u2019s value, it is worth checking that the story, evidence and IP protection all point in the same direction. We can help you identify the available options and build a practical protection strategy for the markets that matter.<\/p>\n This article provides general information only. The availability and scope of trade mark, geographical indication, certification mark and related protection vary by jurisdiction and should be checked before adopting a name, label or export strategy.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Proof Is in the Provenance \u201cAll that glisters is not gold.\u201d \u2013 William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice Two objects may look much the same and yet command very different prices. One canvas is by a celebrated artist; another is from the artist\u2019s studio; a third is a skilful fake. One bottle contains sparkling…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":9396,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[317],"class_list":["post-9381","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ip-strategy","insight-resource-articles"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\n\u2013 Henry Moore<\/p>\nA taste of place<\/h5>\n
\n\u2013 Latin proverb, recorded by Pliny the Elder<\/p>\nA geographical catch-22<\/h5>\n
\n\u2013 Andy Warhol<\/p>\nGeographical indications, appellations and certification marks<\/h5>\n
One name, several borders<\/h5>\n
Building an IP strategy around provenance<\/h5>\n
\n
The last word belongs to the evidence<\/h5>\n