Sponsored section
The current need from regulators and civil society for increased transparency regarding ingredients used in consumer products presents a difficult and perhaps unique dilemma for the fragrance industry: How can we satisfy the need for more ingredient information whilst protecting our intellectual property? The fragrance industry creates scents that bring added value to thousands of products and provide pleasure and benefits to peoples’ everyday lives. Products such as washing powders, fabric softeners, detergents, air fresheners, personal care products and fine fragrances all contain a fragrance formula. This formula is a mixture of fragrance materials and can contain anything from 20 to 200 or more different ingredients from a palette of over 2000, blended to create the perfect scent required for the product. A great deal of time, expertise, money and effort goes into developing the fragrance formula, which is extremely valuable and considered as a trade secret. Valuable as a formula may be, legally it is considered as ‘artisanal’ and therefore cannot be protected. Because of this, historically the fragrance industry has closely guarded the secrets of its formulae, only disclosing the ingredients under strict confidentiality agreements. Now, however, there is pressure from regulators and civil society groups for the fragrance industry to disclose some or all of the ingredients of a fragrance formula for any given product. In principle the fragrance industry accepts the need to know what is in products. It is generally understood that consumers are more aware of health and environmental issues and they wish to make informed choices about the types of products they use. The problem is how does the fragrance industry protect its intellectual property and still reveal the ingredients of the formulae if the formulae cannot be protected? Over the years there have been court cases based on the counterfeiting or copying of a fragrance. Recent cases have been won under existing intellectual property laws but the focus was rarely on the fragrance formula being copied but more often than not on the packaging and branding being copied. The fragrance industry would like to see some sort of similar protection afforded to the formula, if not through a patent, perhaps through an alternative legal mechanism. If a fragrance itself has been copied, this can be established using a combination of chemical analysis, olfactory expertise and consumer testing. This is one aspect of the debate. Another is what constitutes transparency? It is not practical to list what could be anything from 20 to 200 ingredients of a fragrance formula on the product packaging, so how will this information be supplied? Via the internet? A telephone hotline? It is easy to publish a list of chemical materials but what will it mean to the consumer? It is my hope that the newly elected EU Parliament and newly appointed EU Commission work together with the fragrance industry to develop solutions that address the need for greater transparency whilst ensuring the continued success of one of Europe’s most creative, innovative and successful industries by enabling it to protect its intellectual property.
What the Chiefs Say is a new public affairs platform designed for senior executives from leading organizations to voice their policies and priorities. In this first issue, business leaders present their expectations and concerns on the direction of European policymaking to the incoming European Commission and the new European Parliament.
What do YOU think? Please leave your comments at the end of the article
Over 150 think tanks and universities across Europe contribute authors and ideas to Europe’s World. This section showcases their own publications and reports and is also a bulletin board for their upcoming events.
What do YOU think are the key policy problems that Europe must resolve? What ideas need a Europe-wide airing? This section is open to your contributions.