RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONIP/C/W/287/Add.3
30 November 2001
(01-6122)
Council for Trade-Related Aspects
of Intellectual Property RightsOriginal:  French
REVIEW OF LEGISLATION
Replies by Côte d’Ivoire to the Follow-up Questions
Posed by the European Communities and their
Member States and Switzerland
Addendum
By means of a communication from the Permanent Mission of Côte d’Ivoire, dated
22 November 2001, the Secretariat has received the fo llowing replies to the follow-up questions posed
by the European Communities and their member States and Switzerland, circulated in documents
IP/C/W/274/Add.1 and IP/C/W/263/Add.2, respectively.
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EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES AND THEIR MEMBER STATES1
Follow-up to question 14
Please clarify whether any domestic legislat ion implements the provisions of Section 3 of
Part II of the TRIPS Agreement.  If none, pl ease explain how the provisions of the Bangui
Agreement have direct effect in Côte d'Ivoire.  Pl ease explain how both nationals of Côte d'Ivoire
and WTO nationals benefit from the protection for GIs.
There is no domestic legislation that implements the provisions of Section 3 of Part II of the
TRIPS Agreement.  The Bangui Agreement serves as national industrial property legislation, and allits provisions therefore apply in each of the member States.
Geographical indications are protected under Annex VI of the Bangui Agreement of
24 February 1999.
Conditions of protection
Geographical indications are protected if they have been registered by the African Intellectual
Property Organization (AIPO) or are to be treated  as having been registered by virtue of an
international convention to which the member States are party.
Geographical indications foreign to the territories of the organization’s member States may be
registered by AIPO only where this is provided for in an international convention to which the
member States are party or in the enforcing legislation.
                                                     
1 Côte d'Ivoire's replies to initial questions posed by the European Communities and their member
States have been circulated in document IP/C/W/287/Add.1.IP/C/W/287/Add.3
Page 2
The following geographical indications are excluded from protection:
• Indications which do not correspond to the definition contained in the Bangui
Agreement;
• indications which are contrary to morality or public order or those which are liable to
deceive the public as to the nature, the source, the manufacturing process, thecharacteristic qualities or the suitability for their purpose of the goods concerned;
• indications which are not protected in their country of origin or, have ceased to be
protected or have fallen into disuse in that country.
Registration procedure
Natural or legal persons carrying on an activity as a producer in the geographical area
specified in the application, with respect to the products specified in the application, as well as groups
of such persons, groups of consumers and any competent authority are entitled to file an application
for registration of a geographical indication.
AIPO examines all applications for registration of a geographical indication to determine
whether the applicant is eligible to request registration and whether the application provides all the
necessary information, including information on exclusions from protection. It registers the
application if no irregularities are found, publishes the registration and furnishes the owner of the
registration with a certificate.
Only producers carrying out their activity for commercial purposes in the geographical area
specified in the Register shall have the right to use a registered geographical indication with respect to
the products specified in the Register, provided that such products possess the essential characteristic
qualities specified in the Register.
Nevertheless, where products have been put into circulation under the conditions defined in
the preceding paragraph, under a registered geographical indication, any person shall have the right to
use the geographical indication for those products.
Unless the above-mentioned conditions are met, it shall be unlawful to use, for commercial
purposes, a registered geographical indication or a similar designation with respect to the products
specified in the Register or similar products, even if the true origin of the product is indicated or if the
geographical indication is in the form of a translation or is accompanied by words such as "kind",
"type", "make", "imitation" or the like.
Follow-up to questions 15 and 16
Please explain the difference, if any, between the two answers.
Answer to Question 15:  See Definitions (Anne x VI, Article 1, of the Bangui Agreement).
"Geographical indication" means an indication that  serves to identify a product as originating
from a territory, a region, or a locality within that territory, in those cases where the quality, reputation
or other specific characteristic of the product may be essentially attributed to such geographical
origin.IP/C/W/287/Add.3
Page 3
Answer to question 16:  In order to qualify for protection as a geog raphical indication, the
product must possess characteristics that are essentially linked to natural conditions (soil, climate) and/or
know-how in the specified locality.
Follow-up to question 17
Please explain and quote those general provisi ons for the protection of GIs to which you
refer.  Please explain how Article 23 of the TRIPS Agreement is implemented in Côte d'Ivoire.
Article 15 of the Bangui Agreement of 24 February 1999 provides for the implementation of
Article 23 of Section 3, Part II, of the TRIPS Agreement and lays down the following conditions for
use of a geographical indication:
(1) Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3) hereafter, only producers carrying on their activity
for commercial purposes in the geographical area specified in the Register shall have
the right to use a registered geographical indication with respect to the products
specified in the Register, provided that such products possess the essentialcharacteristic qualities specified in the Register.
(2) Where products have been put into circulation under the conditions defined in the
preceding paragraph, under a registered geographical indication, any person shall
have the right to use the geographical indication for those products.
(3) Apart from the cases referred to in the preceding paragraphs (1) and (2), it shall be
unlawful to use, for commercial purposes, a registered geographical indication, or a
similar designation, with respect to the products specified in the Register or similar
products, even if the true origin of the products is indicated or if the geographical
indication is in the form of a translation or is accompanied by terms such as "kind","type", "make", "imitation" or the like.
(4) The competent national authority of the member State concerned may decide by
regulation that the quality of products put on sale or used under a registered
geographical indication shall be subjected to control or that the use of such
geographical indication shall be prohibited.
(5) It shall be unlawful to use in the designation or presentation of a product any means
that infers or suggests that the product concerned originates in a geographical area
other than its true place of origin in a manner likely to mislead the public as to the
geographical origin of the product.
(6) The owner of an earlier mark that is identical with or similar to a geographical
indication may continue to use his mark, except where such mark concerns wines or
spirits.IP/C/W/287/Add.3
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SWITZERLAND2
A. GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS
Ad reply to question 1
Please explain in detail how your country protects foreign geographical indications.
Must they be registered in order to be protected?
Geographical indications are protected under Annex VI of the Bangui Agreement of
24 February 1999.
Conditions of protection
Geographical indications are protected if they have been registered by the African Intellectual
Property Organization (AIPO) or are to be treated  as having been registered by virtue of an
international convention to which the member States are party.
Geographical indications foreign to the territories of the organization’s member States may be
registered by AIPO only where this is provided for in an international convention to which the
member States are party or in the enforcing legislation.
The following geographical indications are excluded from protection:
• Indications which do not correspond to the definition contained in the Bangui
Agreement;
• indications which are contrary to morality or public order or those which are liable to
deceive the public as to the nature, the source, the manufacturing process, the
characteristic qualities or the suitability for their purpose of the goods concerned;
• indications which are not protected in their country of origin or, have ceased to be
protected or have fallen into disuse in that country.
B. PATENTS
Ad reply to question 2
In your reply you state that patent protection  is not extended to plant varieties.  Please
describe and explain the system you have provided for protecting them.
Plant varieties are excluded from patent protection.  They are protected by a new plant variety
certificate issued by the African Intellectual Pr operty Organization (AIPO).  Annex X of the Bangui
Agreement of 24 February 1999 lays down the conditions for the protection of plant varieties.
                                                     
2 Côte d'Ivoire's replies to initial questions posed by Switzerland have been circulated in
document IP/C/W/287.IP/C/W/287/Add.3
Page 5
C. ENFORCEMENT
Ad reply to question 7
Please explain how your legislation implements the obligations under Article 50 of the
TRIPS Agreement.
The infringement seizure regime established under the Bangui Agreement allows the judge to
order the seizure of allegedly infringing goods at any location, including the border.
Before seizure is effected, the judge may require the petitioner to furnish security.The person in possession of the goods seized is given a copy of the order and of the document
attesting the deposit of security, on pain of invalidity and damages against the bailiff, the public
official or the customs officer, as the case may be.
The complainant has ten (10) days to take substantive action;  if no such action is taken by the
end of that ten-day period, the seizure becomes void and the defendant may claim damages.
The draft law on the protection of intellectual property rights at borders not only authorizes
the detention in customs of any allegedly infringing goods (Article 7) but also authorizes the
complainant to inspect the goods whose clearance has been suspended (Article 14), requires the
complainant to provide tangible evidence of the rights he is asserting and the claims he is making(Article 8), authorizes the customs service to se ize the goods ex officio in order to prevent any
infringing goods that have been detected from r eaching the market (Article 19), provides for the
payment of damages to the defendant and the right to be heard at review proceedings if a substantive
decision is handed down (Article 13(b)), and provid es for all provisional measures to be suspended at
the request of the defendant if the complainant fails to take substantive action within ten (10) days(Article 13(a)).
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