1This book originated in two of my Ph.D. dissertation essays at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva. Many people were crucial to the successful completion of my Ph.D. thesis. First and foremost, I am grateful to my three Ph.D. thesis supervisors. Back in 2004, I asked Professor Damien Neven to be my supervisor, as his vast knowledge of competition policy was particularly suited to the issues I wanted to explore regarding geographical indications (GIs). At our first meeting he prompted me to look into clubs good theory; six years later, the first chapter of the thesis is entirely built upon this key initial advice. This collaboration ceased shortly after the bibliographic review (Examen Approfondi, in March 2006); when Professor Neven was appointed Chief Competition Economist at the European Commission. Nonetheless, he gracefully agreed to be a member of my defence Jury in September 2010, and I am thankful for that.

2My second supervisor was Professor Thierry Verdier. His course on the Economics of Social Interactions had been an inspiration, and I trusted that he would help me strengthen the chapters on GI reputation and claw-back. He guided me through the first draft (Mémoire Préliminaire, presented in October 2006) and provided a comprehensive report on my thesis that led me to explore issues previously disregarded.

3In my final year at the Graduate Institute (after four years as Teaching Assistant and two pregnancies), I needed a six-month extension to complete the thesis, a period during which Professor Verdier would be away from Geneva (Fall 2009). I asked Professor Richard Baldwin to become my supervisor, as he had been a member of the Jury at the Examen Approfondi and the second reader of my Mémoire Préliminaire. In retrospect, his guidance was flawless. He suggested that I add a third empirical chapter to my thesis, which I did, and which helped me to consolidate the quantitative skills I had acquired as Teaching Assistant of Econometrics I to Professor Jaya Krishnakumar.1 As Professor Baldwin has fully embraced the paperless culture and mostly holds Skype meetings, he encourages an extra effort for concision and precision on the part of his students. Overall, his intransigence on the importance of argument and structure were, in my view, the key to success; and with his experience, common sense and pragmatism, he was particularly skilled at getting all signs of stress out my system whenever I was feeling overwhelmed by the tasks ahead and the tight deadlines.

4There are other people to whom I am indebted. Significantly, back in 2004, I only knew that I wanted to research trade and intellectual property. Patrick Low, Professor at the Graduate Institute, Chief Economist at the World Trade Organization, and a good friend, suggested that I write on an under-researched area – geographical indications. I started to read through a full dossier of papers that he passed on to me; he later agreed to be the second reader of the Master’s Mémoire (September 2004) and to sit at the Ph.D.’s Examen Approfondi. Throughout these years, his support has been priceless.

5I also received valuable written comments on earlier drafts of my GI chapters from Marion Jansen and Carsten Fink, whom I did not know at the time, though our paths have crossed again since, and Sergio Escudero. And I put to good use a series of insights on international trade and intellectual property law received from Mario Matus and Maximiliano Santa Cruz over the course of more than a decade of friendship.

6My thesis also benefitted from my collaborations with the Professors to which I have been Teaching Assistant: Cedric Tille (Macroeconomics), Ramses Abul Naga (Mathematics for economists) and especially Jaya Krishnakumar (Econometrics I), with whom I worked for two terms. I am also obliged to Professor Charles Wyplosz, for validating my studies at Columbia University so that I could fast-track on the Master to get to the Ph.D. (I was then in my first pregnancy), and Marcelo Olarreaga, Professor at the University of Geneva, for his detailed comments and encouragement as the external reader of my Ph.D. thesis. I am also grateful to Antony Taubman for inviting me to present my GI chapters at the WTO Public Forum of 2010.

7My research has also grown stronger out of several informal conversations with fellow Master and Ph.D. students and friends, notably, in alphabetical order: Theresa Carpenter, Renato Faccini, Intan Hamdan, Kornel Mahlstein, Cameron Mc Loughlin, Ana Cristina Molina, Valmina Prezani, Lorenzo Rotunno, Javier Sanjinés, Pierre-Louis Vézina, Andre Wagner and Saadia Zahidi. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the administrative staff at the Graduate Institute, Danièle Avanthay, Navitri Putri and particularly Denise Ducroz, a source of permanent support.

8For the e-Book, I am indebted to the Graduate Institute editing and publishing team, and particularly to Marc Galvin, who proposed to convert my thesis into a book, Catherine Fragnière, and Marie Thorndahl; as well as to Katharine Millar for the English editing. The anonymous peer review process obliged me to better motivate the research, tighten up the reasoning and clarify findings; and led to a complete restructuring of the book aimed at defining the issues at stake in an introductory chapter and at highlighting linkages between chapters.

9Last but certainly not least, throughout my studies I have felt empowered by the love and care of my family and friends.

10Geneva, November 2012