TN/IP/27  
 
16 December  2019 
(19-8778) Page: 1/2 
Council for Trade -Related Aspects of  
Intellectual Property Rights  
Special Session    
 
MULTILATERAL SYSTEM OF NOTIFICATION AND REGISTRATION OF GEOG RAPHICAL 
INDICATIONS FOR WINE S AND SPIRITS  
REPORT BY THE CHAIRM AN, AMBASSADOR DACIO CASTILLO (HONDURAS ) 
1.  This report on the negotiations on the establishment of a multilateral system of notification and 
registration of geographical indications (GIs) for wines and spirits (" GI Register") in the Special 
Session of the Council for TRIPS is submitted on my own responsibility and is without prejudice to 
the positions of delegations and to the outcome of the negotiations.  
2.  Since my last written report , circulated as document TN/IP/2 6 on 20 December  2018, there has 
been little activity in the TRIPS negotiations on a multilateral register for wine and spirit GIs. While 
there had been some signs of active reflection on the part of the demandeurs  in the past, these have 
not resulted in any concrete initiative or declaration in the TRIPS Special Session. I have also not 
been able to detect any movement in Members' positions over the course of this year .  
3.  Since the beginning of the year  I have held a number of informal conversations with individual 
delegations  and organised  a small group consultation with the most active delegations on 1 May . I 
also held an informal open -ended meet ing on 4 December 2019 to provide an opportunity for 
Members to share their views in an open -ended meeting. I reported the state of play in the TRIPS 
Special Session to the informal HODs/TNC meetings on 3 May  and 6 December  2019. 
4.  In all these meetings , I highlighted once again that the lack of activity in the TRIPS Special 
Session stands in stark contrast with c onsiderable activity on GIs in b ilateral and regional trade 
agreements that create multiple new protection regimes for GIs, and to the active development of 
domestic systems of GI protection in a number of WTO Members. This general momentum  has 
unfortunately  not translated into increased initiative in this negotiating group, which has not engaged 
in the substance of its mandated work on a GI Register for wine and spirit GIs for several years now.  
5.  I once again invited delegations to reflect on whether a discu ssion of the recent developments in 
bilateral trade agreements and domestic GI protection systems could be relevant or useful  to the 
TRIPS Special Session , and might  help reinvigorate its work. Given the pace of these developments, 
such a discussion might cast new light on some of the negotiating positions , some of  which date 
from around 2008.  
6.  At these meetings , delegations supporting the modalities proposal contained in TN/C/W/52 
reiterated their demands for parallel advances on all three TRIPS issues1 and confirmed that the y 
viewed the WTO as the right forum to discuss these questions. As they judged the  current difficult 
negotiating context as not conducive to engaging substantively at this time, however, they continue d 
to reflect on these issues and periodically re -assess the situation in this regard.  
7.  Equally, t he delegations supporting the Joint Proposal TN/IP/W/10/Rev.4 reiterated their position 
that work in the TRIPS Special Session must respect the negotiating mandate that is limited to wine 
and s pirit GIs. Most delegations in this group declared themselves open to considering new concrete 
proposals within the mandate, but they did not see merit in engaging in this area in the absence of 
prospects for progress. One delegation emphasised  its view th at the longstanding divergence of 
                                                
1 GI extension, the GI register , and the relationship between the TRIPS and the CBD . TN/IP/27  
 
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  views made convergence unlikely and that it therefore  opposed  any intensification of work in any of 
the Doha negotiating groups . 
8.  In light of the above, I feel compelled to report once again that the situation remains uncha nged, 
and that there is no appetite for substantive engagement in the TRIPS Special Session on either side 
of the debate.  Despite considerable advances in the area of GIs outside the WTO, Members' positions 
in the TRIPS Special Session have not benefited from substantive engagement with such 
developments . As in the past years, I did not detect any willingness on the part of delegations to 
reconsider their traditional positions, or to restart discussions in th e TRIPS Special Session at this 
time. 
9.  It is my personal view that this state of affairs represents a lost opportunity for useful multilateral 
work in the area of GIs. I am aware that the increasing number of bilateral agreements on GIs, and 
the impending e ntry into force of the Geneva Act of the Lisbon System, are signs of success for the 
legitimate users of the individual GIs protected under these systems. However, this increasing 
multiplicity of protection systems also means, that to establish the exact n ature and scope of 
protection of an individual GI in a given jurisdiction is becoming more difficult, not less. The relevance 
and need for accurate information on GI protection are reflected in the increasing number of 
initiatives for GI registers by busin ess associations that struggle to collect and present this 
information that is so important for traders and users of GI -protected products. At a time when 
Members are increasingly considering how to enhance transparency, this strikes me as a compelling 
area where a combined effort to improve information can deliver concrete benefits for businesses 
and producers across the Membership.  
10.  I believe that in this context, a reliable multilateral register for wine and spirit GIs, that reflects 
the actual details of protection in individual jurisdictions, could effectively complement bilateral and 
plurilateral GI developments, and make a real contribution to addressing the practical needs of 
traders in products that are covered by the GIs in such a register . 
11.  Although recent experience is discouraging , it remains my hope that delegations will eventually 
return to substantive discussions in the TRIPS Special Session and work towards a useful multilateral 
contribution in this area.  As always, I stand ready to h elp them once they do.  
 
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