WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION  
ORGANISATION MONDIALE DU COMMERCE  
ORGANIZACIÓN MUNDIAL DEL COMERCIO  IP/N/1/HUN/G/1 
11 February 2004 
 (04-0546) 
Council for Trade-Related Aspects 
of Intellectual Property Rights Original:   English/ 
  anglais/   inglés 
 
MAIN DEDICATED INTELLECTUAL PR OPERTY LAWS AND REGULATIONS 
NOTIFIED UNDER ARTICLE 63.2 OF THE AGREEMENT 
 
HUNGARY 
 
 By means of a communication dated 30 June 1999, Hungary has notified Decree of the Government No. 87/1998 /V.6) on the Detailed Ru les Concerning the Protection of Geographical 
Indications of Agricultural Products and Foodstuffs (entry into force:  21 May 1998), in order to supplement earlier notifications under Article 63. 2 of the Agreement.  The present document 
reproduces the text
1 of the Decree. 
 
 
Conseil des aspects des droits de propriété intellectuelle qui touchent au commerce  
  
PRINCIPALES LOIS ET RÉGLEMENTATIONS CONSACRÉES 
À LA PROPRIÉTÉ INTELLECTUELLE NOTIFIÉES 
AU TITRE DE L'ARTICLE 63:2 DE L'ACCORD  
 
HONGRIE 
 
 Par une communication datée du 30 juin 199 9, la Hongrie a notifié le Décret du 
gouvernement n° 87/1998 /V.6) conten ant le règlement détaillé relatif à la protection des indications 
géographiques utilisées pour les produits agricoles et les denrées alimentaires (entrée en vigueur:  
21 mai 1998), afin de compléter les notifications antéri eures au titre de l'article 63:2 de l'Accord.  Le 
présent document contient le texte
1 du Décret. 
__________________________________________________________________________________  
Consejo de los Aspectos de los Derechos de Propiedad 
Intelectual relacionados con el Comercio 
 
 
PRINCIPALES LEYES Y REGLAMENTOS DEDICADOS A LA 
PROPIEDAD INTELECTUAL NOTIFICADOS EN VIRTUD 
DEL PÁRRAFO 2 DEL ARTÍCULO 63 DEL ACUERDO 
 
HUNGRÍA 
 
 Mediante una comunicación de fecha 30 de j unio de 1999, Hungría ha notificado el Decreto 
del Gobierno Nº 87/1998 /V.6 sobre Normas Detalla das relativas a la Protección de las Indicaciones 
Geográficas de Productos Agropecuarios y Alimentici os (entrada en vigor:  21 de mayo de 1998), a 
fin de completar sus notificaciones anteriores en vi rtud del párrafo 2 del artículo 63 del Acuerdo.  
En el presente documento se reproduce el texto
1 del Decreto. 
                                                      
 1 In English only./En anglais seulement./En inglés solamente. IP/N/1/HUN/G/1 
Page 2  
 
 Decree of the Government No. 87/1998 (V.6.) on the Detailed Rules 
Concerning the Protection of Geogra phical Indications of Agricultural 
Products and Foodstuffs 
  
By virtue of the authorizat ion under Article 121(1)(b) of Law No. XI of 1997 on 
the Protection of Trademarks and Geogr aphical Indications (hereinafter 
referred to as “the Trademark Law”) t he Government orders as follows: 
 
Inspection of Products 
Article 1 
 
(1) In order to enforce the requirements of  protectability laid down in Article 104 
of the Trademark Law concerning geogra phical indications of agricultural 
products and foodstuffs, including wines and  spirits (hereinafter referred to as 
“products”), there shall be inspected a) in the procedure for registration under Article 113 of the Trademark Law and 
in the case of amendments of the product specificati on, whether the products 
bearing the geographical indi cation meet the requirem ents laid down in the 
product specification; b) during the use of geographical indicati ons in the course of trade and in any 
stage of the production, importation and pu tting on the market of the products, 
whether the requirements laid down in the product specification are met. 
(2) The provisions of paragraph (1)(b ) shall not prevent  inspection and 
measures with respect to the producti on and the putting on the market of the 
products on the basis of other legislation.  
Product Specification 
Article 2 
 
(1) The product specification forming part of the application for registration of 
geographical indications shall include: a) the name of the geographical indication; b) the name of the product with respect to which the geographical indication is 
used; c) a description of the product including, if appropriate, the ra w materials used 
for the production, and principal physica l, chemical, microbiological and 
organoleptic characteristics of the product; d) a description of the method of obtai ning the product and, if appropriate, the 
authentic local methods; 
e) the definition of the geographical area in which the product designated by 
the geographical indication originates, in the case of wines the site determined 
under Article 4(5) of Law No. CXXI of  1997 on viticulture and wine-making, and 
in the case of geographical names traditi onally used for foodstuffs also the 
definition of the br eeding area in compliance with  Article 118(1)(a) of the 
Trademark Law;  IP/N/1/HUN/G/1 
 Page 3 
 
 
 f) the details of the link between the product and t he geographical environment 
or the geographical origin bearing out the fact that  the specific quality, 
reputation or other characte ristics of the product are at tributable to that link; 
g) the labelling details relating to t he geographical indicati ons appearing on the 
product. (2) During the procedure for the regist ration of geographical indications and 
during the term of protection the proprietors may amend the product 
specification, in particular to take a ccount of development s in scientific and 
technical knowledge or to redefine the geographical area. 
 
Inspection Authorities 
Article 3 
 (1) The inspection tasks prescribed in Ar ticle (1)(a) with respect to the 
protection of geographical indi cations of the products shall be carried out by the 
Ministry of Agriculture (hereinafter refe rred to as “the Ministry”) in compliance 
with the opinion of the Hungarian Council for the Protection of  Appellations of 
Origin (hereinafter referred to as “the Council”). (2) The Council shall consist of 15 mem bers. The members shall be invited by 
the Minister of Agriculture (hereinafte r referred to as “the Minister”) from 
amongst the representatives of produc ers, science, consumers protection 
organizations, inspection and from amongst the representatives of the Ministry 
and of the Hungarian Patent Office. (3) With respect to wines, the Counc il shall set up a Committee for the 
Protection of Appellations of  Origin of Wines  (hereinafter referred to as “the 
Committee) to carry out the inspection tasks prescribed in Article 1(1)(a). 
(4) The rules of procedure of the C ouncil and of the Committee shall be 
approved by the Minister, the secretarial work sh all be performed by the 
Ministry. (5) The results of inspections carried out by a foreign organization may be 
taken into consideration in the pr ocedure for registration of geographical 
indications either with t he consent of such organization, or on the basis of an 
international treaty or subject to reciproc ity. In the matter of reciprocity, the 
opinion of the President of the Hungarian Patent Office shall be decisive. The 
Hungarian Patent Office shall notify the Council and the Committee of the 
acceptance of the results of foreign inspection.  
Article 4 
 
The inspection tasks referred to in Articl e 1(1)(b) shall be carried out by the 
following authorities: 
a) with respect to wines: the Na tional Wine Qualifying Institute; 
b) with respect to other products: in the course of production, the county (metropolitan) veterinary and food-inspection stati on in whose sphere of 
authority the geographical place correspondi ng to the geographical indication is 
located, and in the course of putti ng the product on the market, consumer 
protection authorities.  IP/N/1/HUN/G/1 
Page 4  
 
 Article 5 
 
(1) The inspection procedure referred to in Article 1(1) shall commence a) in the case of the regi stration of geographical indica tions and in the case of 
amendments of the product specification,  at the request of the proprietor to 
certify that the products bearing t he geographical indi cation meet the 
requirements laid down in the product specification; b) during the use of geographical indi cations in the course of trade,  ex officio  or 
at a request to establish that in relati on to the product s pecification serious 
defects occur in the use of the geogr aphical indication,  which cannot be 
remedied in any other way and can result  in the lapse of protection under the 
provisions of Article 111( 3) of the Trademark Law. 
(2) As a result of the proc edure, the inspection authority either allows or rejects 
the request within six mont hs from the commencement of the procedure. In the 
event of an invitation to correct defects or  in other justified cases the inspection 
authority may extend the time limit onc e for a period of not more than six 
months. (3) In the procedures concerning geograp hical indications falling within the 
competence of the Hungarian Pa tent Office in accordance  with Article 112(1) of 
the Trademark Law, decisions of the inspection authority shall be taken into 
consideration with respect to complianc e with the requirements of the product 
specification. (4) The costs of the procedure before the inspection authority shall be borne by 
the requesting party.  
Article 6 
 
(1) The registration of geographical indica tions of the products  and the lapse of 
protection shall also be published in t he official journal of the Ministry. 
(2) After the registration of the geographica l indication the product specification, 
with the exception of wines, shall be recorded in the Hungarian Food Register. 
 
Entry Into Force; Transitional Provisions 
 
Article 7 
 
(1) This Decree shall enter into force on the fifteenth day following 
promulgation; its provisi ons on geographical indicati ons shall apply both in 
pending procedures and  with respect to valid registrations. (2) In the case of appellations of orig in protected under Ar ticle 118(3) of the 
Trademark Law, the product specificati on shall be filed with the Hungarian 
Patent Office within one year from the entry into force of this Decree. 
  IP/N/1/HUN/G/1 
 Page 5 
 
 
 Approximation to European Community Law 
 
Article 8 
 
Pursuant to Article 3 of Law No. I of  1994 promulgating the Agreement, signed 
in Brussels on December 16, 1991, es tablishing an association between the 
Republic of Hungary and the European Communities and the Member States, 
this Decree contains regulat ions compatible with the following legislation of the 
European Communities: Council Regulati on 2081/92/EEC on the protection of 
geographical indications and designations of origin fo r agricultural products and 
foodstuffs. 
 
__________