WTO GIs Group Continues Work On Topic “Clusters”

The World Trade Organization group tasked with negotiating an international register for geographical indications (product names associated with a particular place and characteristics) on wines and spirits will continue to discuss a set of questions and principles about the GI register.

The group met yesterday in a formal Special Session. But positions of member states have not moved since the last Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Special Session in October (IPW, WTO/TRIPS, 30 October 2009).

Critical issue areas broken into clusters include: who will participate (and if it will be mandatory or voluntary or a third option), the legal effects of participation and how much weight the register should carry in national decisions, how notifications and registrations will be made and administrative issues such as fees and special treatment for developing countries, said a WTO source.

The European Union and Switzerland – the major proponents of strong GI protection – and their supporters continued to say that progress on the GI register has to be linked to two other IP issues: the link between TRIPS and the UN Convention on Biological Diversity and the possible extension of high-level protection of GIs on wines and spirits to other goods. This position is supported by a majority of WTO members. On the other side, Australia, Argentina, Canada, Japan, New Zealand and the United States and others continue to oppose discussing the three issues in tandem.