TN/IP/26  
 
20 December  2018 
(18-8067) 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.  There has been very limited activity in the context of the TRIPS Special Session s ince my last 
written report circulated as document TN/IP/2 5 on 27 November 2017 , and I have not detected 
any substantial developments in Members' approach es to the substance or the process of the GI 
Register negotiations  this year . 
3.  Since the beginning of the year  I have held a number of informal conversations with individual 
delegations , and organized small group consultations with around 26 of the most active 
delegations on 13 July and on 7 November 2018. I reported the state of play in the TRIPS Special 
Session to the informal HODs/TNC meetings on 7 May and 24 July 2018.  
4.  In the se small group consultations,  I highlighted 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 which create multiple new protection regimes for GIs, and to the active development 
of domestic systems of GI protection in a number of WTO Members. The relevance of GIs for 
Members domestic IP policy was also highlighted by the fact that the TRI PS obligations regarding 
GI protection remain a popular topic for which Members request technical assistance from the 
WTO Secretariat.  The relationship between trademarks and GIs , a topic relevant to the GI debate 
in many fora, had also been the theme of c onferences in which interested Members had 
participated. T his general momentum  had 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 s pirit GIs for several years now.  
5.  I invited delegations to reflect on whether a discussion 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 a new light on some of the negotiating positions which date from around 
2008.  
6.  In response, delegations supporting the modalities proposal contained in TN/C/W/52 reit erated 
their demands for parallel advances on all three TRIPS issues, and confirmed their view that the 
WTO was the right forum to discuss these questions. While the current difficult negotiating context 
was, in their view, not conducive to engaging substa ntively at this time, they continued to reflect 
on these issues and were periodically re -assessing the situation in this regard.  
7.  The delegations supporting the Joint Proposal TN/IP/W/10/Rev.4 reiterated their position that 
work in the TRIPS Special Session  must respect the mandate limited to wine and spirit GIs. While 
most delegations in this group declared themselves open to considering any new concrete 
proposals within the mandate, the y did not see merit in engaging in this area in the absence of 
prospect s for progress.  One delegation emphasised  its view that the longstanding divergence of TN/IP/2 6 
 
- 2 - 
 
  views made convergence unlikely and that it therefore  opposed  any intensification of work in the 
negotiating groups . 
8.  In light of the above, it is my assessment that the situation has not evolved since my last 
report in November 2017. 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 appetite on the part of 
delegations to reconsider their traditional positions, or to restart discussions, in the TRIPS Special 
Session at this time.  
9.  In view of this assessment I will remain in  close contact with d elegations and continue my 
efforts to facilitate engagement in this negotiating group .  
__________