WTO Back At The Discussion Table On GI Register

By Catherine Saez

An informal meeting is scheduled to take place on 12 December at the World Trade Organization on a multilateral register for geographical indications of wines and spirits. The meeting is expected to discuss how to move the work in the negotiations, and how to reflect it in the post-Bali work programme, according to a source.

The subject of geographical indications register for wines and spirits is the only intellectual property subject of the Doha Round, the source said. The discussions in the Council of the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights have been stuck for some time after no agreement could be reached on the register.

Parallel efforts have been pursued at the World Intellectual Property Organization, which is scheduled to hold a diplomatic conference in May to update the Lisbon Agreement for the Protection of Appellations of Origin and their International Registration. The update of the instrument would allow GIs to be integrated in the current register of Appellations of Origin (IPW, WIPO, 26 September 2014).

According to the WTO source, the informal meeting follows the meeting of the General Council on 27 November, which adopted decisions related to public stockholding for food security purposes, including agreement to resume work that had been agreed at the 2013 WTO Bali Ministerial Conference.

A new deadline has been set to produce a work programme for completing the Doha Round negotiations, in July, according to the WTO source.

Image Credits: Flickr – Dorte