Status Of WTO Wines And Spirits Register Discussed

World Trade Organization delegates were convened this week to discuss an international register for wines and spirits in the context of the organisation’s agreement on intellectual property. The discussion, dating back nearly 20 years, has long involved different views on the register, which were reaffirmed this week, according to sources in Geneva.

Discussions on the multilateral register on wines and spirits have been revived since the WTO Ministerial Conference in December 2013 unlocked discussions on the Doha Round. According to a WTO spokesperson speaking in a press briefing today, the negotiations on the multilateral register begun in 1997 and were later included in the Doha Round in 2001.

Country IP negotiators are expected to lay out a work programme by a July 2015 deadline. Yesterday’s meeting was held on the eve of the 24-25 February meeting of the Council on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).

The register relates to the geographical indications section of the WTO TRIPS Agreement. Geographical indications are place names that identify the origin, quality and reputation of a product.

Under TRIPS, wines and spirits enjoy a higher level of protection than other GIs (Article 23).

Article 23.4 calls for the negotiation of a register:

In order to facilitate the protection of geographical indications for wines, negotiations shall be undertaken in the Council for TRIPS concerning the establishment of a multilateral system of notification and registration of geographical indications for wines eligible for protection in those Members participating in the system.

This was taken forward in the 2001 Doha Round of trade talks. Discussions on the register have a special status and are referred to as “special sessions” of the WTO Council on TRIPS.

The 23 February informal meeting, chaired by Honduras Amb. Dacio Castillo, follows a meeting in December, which was inconclusive (IPW, WTO, 12 December 2014). According to a source, WTO members received “a refresher course” on the issue yesterday.

Two main positions appeared to be irreconcilable this week, according to sources in Geneva.

One group of GI-proponent countries is asking that the higher protection enjoyed by wines and spirits be extended to other GIs, and continues to link the issue with an amendment to the TRIPS to include a mandatory disclosure requirement of origin for genetic resources and traditional knowledge in patent applications.

The other group of countries maintains that the register should only concern wines and spirits, as foreseen in the TRIPS Council mandate.

Other dividing issues are the nature of the register and its potential legal consequences for countries, and whether the participation to the register should be voluntary or mandatory.

No suggestions were indicated on the way to move forward, said a source.

Also, no mention was made of the proposed amendment to include GIs in the World Intellectual Property Organization Lisbon Agreement for the Protection of Appellations of Origin and their International Registration, (IPW, WIPO, 15 October 2014), he said. A treaty negotiation conference will be held on the Lisbon amendment in May.