WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/GC/W/547 
TN/C/W/26 
TN/IP/W/11 
14 June 2005 
 (05-2506) 
General Council Trade Negotiations Committee Council for Trade-Related Aspects 
of Intellectual Property Rights 
Special Session Original:   English 
 
  
GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS 
 
Communication from the European Communities
 
  
 The following communication, dated 13 June 2005, is being circulated to the General 
Council, to the TNC and to the Special Session of  the Council for TRIPS at the request of the 
Delegation of the European Commission.  
_______________ 
 
 I. INTRODUCTION 
Attached is a proposal for amending Section 3 of the TRIPS Agreement with a view to 
extending the regime of protection today available fo r geographical indications on wines and spirits to 
geographical indications on all produc ts ("extension").  In addition, a proposal for the inclusion of an 
annex to the TRIPS Agreement establishing a multilate ral system of notification and registration of 
geographical indications (GIs) is also attached.  Ac hieving substantial results on these issues remains 
a priority for the EC in the DDA. 
This new proposal maintains the level of amb ition of the EC as regards both "extension" and 
the multilateral register of GIs, as contained in  particular in the proposals in documents 
IP/C/W/107/Rev.1 (on the GI register) and IP/C /W/353 (on "extension"). However, some new 
provisions have been added to meet some of the concerns expressed by other Members when 
discussing the GI register regarding the rules that would be applicable to trademarks, as well as 
regarding the issue of costs of the register.  On the latter question, a proposal for a system of financing 
the multilateral register has been included. 
The proposal is balanced;  while seeking that th e benefits of geographical indications extend 
beyond the nations of the world that produce wines and spirits to cover all of them, it also provides for 
new mechanisms explicitly designed to allow thir d countries leeway to protect trademarks, plant 
varieties and animal breeds, as well as to grandfat her certain uses of names under which companies 
have made and sold products using names that ar e protected as geographical indications elsewhere.  
The attached documents are based  upon the text of TRIPS Agreement itself, the draft text on 
"extension" that was attached to document TN/C/W/14, and JOB(03)/75. WT/GC/W/547 
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 II. THE AMENDMENTS REGA RDING "EXTENSION" 
As far as "extension" is concerned, the modifi cations that concern Article 23 of the TRIPS 
Agreement are self-explanatory.  They simply seek to extend their scope to geographical indications 
for all products.  In a nutshell, the obligation to prov ide the legal means to inte rested parties to prevent 
certain types of imitations (Article 23.1), as well as  the obligation to refuse or invalidate trademarks 
including geographical indications (Article 23.2) ar e extended to any situation in which the trademark 
or the imitation concerns a product of the sam e kind as the one protected by the geographical 
indication.  In addition, the provision on homonymou s (Article 23.3) would also apply to geographical 
indications on all products. 
Developing countries would find this proposal mo re tailored to their needs since it covers 
geographical indications on other products like co ffee, rice, and teas.  Furthermore, it advances a 
protection system that is easy to apply.  It is sufficient to determine whether the good has the origin 
referred to by the geographical indications.  The suggested changes are important given that the 
current system cannot be used by poor producer s as it requires costly evidence (e.g. consumer 
surveys) that the public is misled. 
Furthermore, we advance a number of proposals regarding the exceptions of Article 24 of the 
TRIPS Agreement. 
Firstly, the reference to "Article 23" in Ar ticle 24.1 TRIPS is redundant, given that all 
products would enjoy the additional protection of Arti cle 23 of the TRIPS Agreement.  This is why it 
is submitted that such reference be removed. 
Secondly, the date to which Article 24.3 refe rs should be supplemented in order to take 
account of new developments in GI protection at the national level between the entry into force of the 
TRIPS Agreement and the date on which th e TRIPS Agreement will be amended.  
Thirdly and more importantly, the grand-father ing clause of Article 24.4 TRIPS would have a 
second paragraph to cover other products.  It should be  noted that this provision is designed to give 
comfort to those countries that cl aim that "extension" would have costs to local producers.  The 
practical effect of this provision is to allow tho se producers to carry on with their activities and remain 
unaffected by the application of Section 3 of the TRIPS Agreement.  This provision, however, does 
not preclude that a given geographical indication be protected;  it only forbids geographical indications protection to prejudice the use of such indication the territory of a third country in the 
circumstances prescribed by that provision.  
Fourthly, it is proposed to add a sentence to Ar ticle 24.5 TRIPS to ensure that the effects of 
"extension" do not prejudice the registration, validi ty and use of trademarks that were to remain 
unprejudiced under Article 22.3, because they would not mislead the consumer as to the origin of the 
product, but would be undermined under ne w Article 23.2 of the TRIPS Agreement. 
The two provisions above exclude a number of business activities from the effects of 
"extension" without completely denying protection to GIs.  These two provisions are clear evidence 
that GI proponents are genuinely attempting to of fer comfort to WTO Members that have raised 
reservations regarding GIs.  
Fifthly, a new sentence has been added to Article  24.6 TRIPS to provide for the possibility to 
WTO Members not to grant protection when a geogra phical indication coincides with plant varieties 
and animal breeds, as instances that are similar to "g rape varieties", currently included in Article 24.6.  WT/GC/W/547 
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 Here again, GI proponents are reaching out to meet the concerns of other WTO Members.  Indeed, the 
current proposals, along with the existing possibility not  to protect geographical indications that have 
become generic terms (Article 24.6 TRIPS, first pa ragraph), should be providing a sufficient level of 
comfort to GI opponents.  It is hard to imagine a current use of a GI of a given country by a producer 
of another that would not fall in one of the three aforementioned situations. 
III. THE AMENDMENTS REGARDING TH E "MULTILATERAL REGISTER" 
With respect to the annex on the multilateral regi ster, the current proposal largely results from 
the deletion from JOB(03)75 of the options that di d not reflect the EC proposal. It should also be 
noted that, given that the multilateral register w ould be opened to geographical indications on all 
products, references to wines and sp irits (e.g. paragraph 2.1(a) and paragraph 2.2(e)), as well as the 
provision of Article 23.4 of the TRIPS Agreement, are to be removed. 
Consistent with the objective pursued in th e "extension" negotiations, the proposal for a 
"multilateral register" seeks to alleviate the co sts of all producers seeking protection worldwide by 
allowing them to gain legal standing in third co untries via a centralised procedure.  This would 
obviously help developing country producers in pa rticular, who have less resources to invest in 
asserting such protection internationally. 
At the same time, also, this proposal also aims at meeting the demands of those WTO 
Members who have expressed concerns over geographi cal indications.  Firstly, this proposal preserves 
each WTO Member's prerogative to determine whether a certain sign, indication or geographical 
name does indeed meet the TRIPS definition of a geographical indication (paragraph 3.2(a)).  In 
addition, this proposal is consistent with the TRI PS principle that only geographical indications that 
are protected in the country of origin are prim a facie entitled to protection (paragraph 8.1).  For 
instance, and contrary to what some have argued, terms such as "Mozzarella", "Camembert", "Cream Cheese", "Spanish onions" or "Pizza" are not currently protected as geographical indications in the EC 
or elsewhere and are therefore not entitled to pr otection in third countries under TRIPS rules.  
The proposal also incorporates a mechanism that ensures that it is the notifying country the 
one supporting some of the cost of examination at the national level, as well as the appropriate share 
of the cost of the multilateral register itself.  This is  important since it ensures that  the thrust of costs 
that the system may generate will be covered by the WTO Members that notify GIs into the system. 
Some other minor changes concern, inter alia , the following: 
(1) Clarifying that the notification of bilateral deals is "for information purposes" only and not 
any hidden attempt to multilateralize bilateral protection. 
(2) Replacing "another" by "its" in paragraph 3.2 to align the provision to the principle of 
territoriality. 
Furthermore, in light of the clarifications brought to light by the recent panel report on 
DS174/290, there is no longer any reason to ex clude trademark provisions from those whose 
application shall be facilitated by the multilatera l register.  On the contrary, the EU's year 2000 
proposal was based on the interpretation that TR IPS Agreement rendered co-existence compulsory. 
On that basis, a geographical indication would always  be able to be protected and, more importantly, 
used, in any WTO Member.  The panel report in DS174/290 has determined that certain validly protected trademarks (namely those that fall under Article 24.5 TRIPS) can impede the use of GIs 
(when the use engenders one of the situations of Article 16 TRIPS a nd the use of a GI does not fall WT/GC/W/547 
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 under an existing national provision implementing Article  17 TRIPS, if existing at all).  Therefore, 
there are instances in which, under the current EU pr oposal, countries could give the appearance that a 
certain GI would be protectable in their territory , where, in fact, conflicting trademarks could in 
practice result in a GI not being allowed to be used in the course of trade. 
It is for this reason that we propose, in paragra ph 3.3, that countries, if requested to do so by 
the notifying WTO Member, provide for information relating to prior trademarks that contain or 
consist of a GI.  This information is necessary in order to ensure that right holders of geographical 
indications have a clear view as to where the prot ection of a geographical indication may not result in 
an undisrupted use of such indication by the geographi cal indication right holder in the course of trade 
in WTO countries bound by Section 3 of Part II of the TRIPS Agreement. 
As a corollary of this provision, it is propo sed that the administering body transmits this 
information to the notifying WTO Member under paragraph 2.6. Likewise, a new paragraph 10 
renders obligatory to have a focal point for retr ansmissions of such notifications, so that the 
administering body knows to whom the notifications should be transmitted. 
Nevertheless, the practical effect  of this provision would be seriously curtailed and, to some 
extent, devoid of purpose, by the fact that it only covers existing trademarks and does not give any 
tool to the right holder of the geographical indicati on to facilitate the defence of its rights vis-à-vis 
attempts to register new trademarks.  This is why it is proposed in new paragraphs 4(c) and 5(b), that 
WTO Members, if requested to do so, monitor th e applications for conflicting trademarks with 
already registered - at the WTO level - geographical indications.  This would give the opportunity to 
the right holder of a geographical indication to ta ke action (e.g. via a domestic opposition procedure, 
for example) and avoid a future conflict. 
The mechanism of examination is aimed at f acilitating the implementation of Section 3 of 
Part II of the TRIPS Agreement, in particular providing a time-frame where countries can exercise 
their prerogative to make a final determination as to whether a certain notified term is a GI (and, 
therefore, is not a generic) or vice-versa.  This  final determination provides certainty to notifying 
WTO Members.  Yet, this is not to entail that t hose who have been using such GIs for non-originating 
products in circumstances that have been grand-fath ered need to stop their use.  On the contrary, 
recourse to Articles 24.5 and 24.6 continues to be possible under national law (paragraph 3.2). 
The cost relating to these obligations, as well as  the general functioning of the system, would 
be supported largely by the applicants that notify GIs into the multilateral register.  The draft treaty 
text provides for a system of fees which allows  a WTO Member to recoup the costs incurred in 
complying with the obligations regarding trademarks , through a system of fees to be paid by the 
notifying WTO Members.  This mechanism, included in paragraph 9.4 et seq., is self-explanatory and, 
largely inspired by the existing system embodied in the Madrid Protocol for the international 
registration of trademarks, divides fees among: 
(1) A basic fee: to cover the administrative functioning of the system, including setting up 
costs; 
(2) An individual fee: to cover the upon-request  obligations to monitor past or future 
trademarks. 
Finally, it should be noted that paragraph 3.4 is slightly modified to clarify that the 
negotiation is a possibility given to the notifying Me mber, but not an automatic consequence, in line 
with Article 24.1 of the TRIPS Agreement.  WT/GC/W/547 
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 IV. CONCLUSION 
To summarize, the current proposal combines a si mplified, more effective level of protection 
for all GIs alike, on the one hand, with a set of lim itations and guarantees that are designed to dispel 
any fears that the GI protection level in the TRI PS Agreement is extended beyond what is foreseen in 
Article 23 TRIPS.  It clarifies the level of ambition of the EU in the area of TRIPS with respect to 
geographical indications, on the one hand, and of  making a honest, balanced proposal that provides 
for a number of flexibilities that ensure that the effects of "extension" are forward looking and, therefore, minimize to the extent possible, any detrimental economic effect on countries that have 
developed economic activities on the basis of nam es and signs protected as GIs in other WTO 
Members. 
The objectives of both "extension" and the "multilateral register" are rather modest from an 
EU point of view and are likely to benefit, in pa rticular, the developing world.  Indeed, Europe has 
experienced more than any other WTO Member the effect of the lack of an appropriate GI protection 
over the years and many of its GIs are now claimed to be generic terms or otherwise fall under some 
of the "exceptions" of Articles 24.4 to 24.6 TRIPS.  This is not yet the case for many of the GIs of 
developing countries, only they are more likely to benefit from a better GI regime. 
GI proponents are reaching out to those who have  expressed reservations.  We expect others 
to act in good faith and contribute to the debate  proposing amendments to the text proposed or 
otherwise presenting an alternative text. 
 
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 DRAFT TEXT FOR THE MODIFICATIONS OF SECTION 3 OF THE TRIPS AGREEMENT 
ON GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS TO TAKE ACCOUNT OF EXTENSION AND FOR 
THE INCLUSION OF AN ANNEX ESTABLISHING A  MULTILATERAL SYSTEM OF 
NOTIFICATION AND REGISTRATION OF GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS  
 
 
Hereby the parties agree to modify the TRIPS Agreement as follows : 
 
SECTION 3:  GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS 
 
Article 22 
 
Protection of Geographical Indications
 
 1. Geographical indications are, for the purposes of  this Agreement, indications which identify a 
good as originating in the territory of a Member, or a region or locality in that territory, where a given 
quality, reputation or other characteristic of the good is essentially attributable to its geographical 
origin. 
 2. In respect of geographical indications, Member s shall provide the legal means for interested 
parties to prevent: 
 
(a) the use of any means in the designation or presentation of a good that indicates or 
suggests that the good in question originates in a geographical area other than the true place of origin in a manner which misleads the public as to the geographical origin of the good; 
 
(b) any use which constitutes an act of unfai r competition within the meaning of Article 
10bis of the Paris Convention (1967). 
 
3. A Member shall, ex officio  if its legislation so permits or at the request of an interested party, 
refuse or invalidate the registration of a trademar k which contains or cons ists of a geographical 
indication with respect to goods not or iginating in the territory indicated, if use of the indication in the 
trademark for such goods in that Member is of such  a nature as to mislead the public as to the true 
place of origin.  WT/GC/W/547 
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 4. The protection under paragra phs 1, 2 and 3 shall be app licable against a geographical 
indication which, although literally true as to th e territory, region or locality in which the goods 
originate, falsely represents to the public th at the goods originate in another territory. 
 
 
Article 23 
 
Additional Protection for Geographical Indications  
 1.  Each Member shall provide the legal mean s for interested parties to prevent use of a 
geographical indication for goods which are identifie d by the geographical indication, if such goods 
do not originate in the place indicated by the geogra phical indication in question, even where the true 
origin of the goods is indicated or the geographical indication is used in translation or accompanied by 
expressions such as "kind", "type", "style", "imitation" or the like.
4 
 
2. The registration of a trademark for goods wh ich contains or consists of a geographical 
indication identifying such goods shall be refused or invalidated, ex officio  if a Member's legislation 
so permits or at the request of an interested part y, with respect to such goods not having this origin. 
 
3.   In the case of homonymous geographical i ndications, protection shall be accorded to each 
indication, subject to the provisions of paragraph 4 of Article 22.  Each Member shall determine the 
practical conditions under which th e homonymous indications in qu estion will be differentiated from 
each other, taking into account the need to ensure equitable treatment of the producers concerned and 
that consumers are not misled. 
 
4.  In order to facilitate the protection of ge ographical indications, a multilateral system of 
notification and registration of ge ographical indications eligible for protection in those Members 
participating in the system shall be esta blished in accordance with the Annex. 
 
                                                      
4  Notwithstanding the first sentence of Article 42, Members may, with respect to these obligations, 
instead provide for enforcement by administrative action. WT/GC/W/547 
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 Article 24 
Exceptions
 
 
1. Members agree to enter into negotiations ai med at increasing the protection of individual 
geographical indications.  The provisions of paragr aphs 4 through 8 below shall not be used by a 
Member to refuse to conduct negotiations or to conc lude bilateral or multilate ral agreements.  In the 
context of such negotiations, Members shall be willi ng to consider the continued applicability of these 
provisions to individual geographical indications whose use was the subject of such negotiations. 
 
2. The Council for TRIPS shall keep under review  the application of the provisions of this 
Section;  the first such review shall take place w ithin two years of the entr y into force of the WTO 
Agreement.  Any matter affecting the compliance with the obligations under these provisions may be 
drawn to the attention of the Council, which, at the request of a Member, shall consult with any 
Member or Members in respect of such matter in respect of which it has not been possible to find a 
satisfactory solution through bilate ral or plurilateral consultations between the Members concerned.  
The Council shall take such action as may be ag reed to facilitate the operation and further the 
objectives of this Section. 
 
3. In implementing this Section, a Member sh all not diminish the protection of geographical 
indications that existed in that Member immediately prior to the date of entry into force of the WTO 
Agreement. In implementing any amendments to this Section, a Member shall not diminish the 
protection of geographical indications that existed in  that Member immediately prior to the date of 
entry into force of the amendment to the TRIPS Agreement.  4. Nothing in this Section shall require a Memb er to prevent continued and similar use of a 
particular geographical indication of another Member  identifying wines or spirits in connection with 
goods or services by any of its nationals or domicilia ries who have used that geographical indication 
in a continuous manner with regard to the same or  related goods or services in the territory of that 
Member either (a) for at least 10 years preceding 15  April 1994 or (b) in good faith preceding that 
date. Without prejudice to Article 22 of the TRIPS Ag reement, a Member shall not be required solely 
on the basis of Article 23 of the TRIPS Agreement to prevent continued and similar use of a particular 
geographical indication of another Member identifying  goods other than wines or spirits in connection 
with goods or services by any of its nationals or  domiciliaries who have used that geographical 
indication in a continuous manner with regard to th e same or related goods or services in the territory  WT/GC/W/547 
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 of that Member either (a) for at least 10 years pr eceding [the date of signature of the amendment to 
the TRIPS Agreement] or (b) in good faith preceding that date.  
5. Where a trademark has been applied for or registered in good faith, or where rights to a 
trademark have been acquired through use in good faith either:  
(a) before the date of application of these provisions in that Member as defined in 
Part VI;  or 
 
(b) before the geographical indication is protected in its country of origin;   
 measures adopted to implement this Section shall not prejudice eligibility for or the validity of the 
registration of a trademark, or the right to use a trademark, on the basis that such a trademark is 
identical with, or similar to, a geographical indicati on.  However, the date under (a) above shall be 
that of the application of the entry into force of  the amendment to the TRIPS Agreement, where the 
trademark concerns products other than wines and spirits and its registration, validity or use is 
prejudiced by the application of Article 23.2 of th e TRIPS Agreement but not by the application of 
Article 22.3 of the TRIPS Agreement. 
 6. Nothing in this Section shall require a Member to apply its provisions in respect of a geographical indication of any other Member with respect to goods or services for which the relevant 
indication is identical with the term customar y in common language as the common name for such 
goods or services in the territory of that Member.  No thing in this Section shall require a Member to 
apply its provisions in respect of a geographical indication of any other Member with respect to 
products of the vine for which the relevant indicatio n is identical with the customary name of a grape 
variety existing in the territory of that Member as of the date of entry into force of the WTO 
Agreement. Nothing in this Section shall require a Member to apply its provisions in respect of a 
geographical indication of any other Member with resp ect to plants or animals for which the relevant 
indication is identical with the name of a plant variet y or animal breed existing in the territory of that 
Member as of the date of entry into force of the WTO Agreement, as amended. 
 
7. A Member may provide that any request made  under this Section in connection with the use 
or registration of a trademark must be presented within five years after the adverse use of the protected indication has become generally known in th at Member or after the date of registration of WT/GC/W/547 
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 the trademark in that Member provided that the tr ademark has been published by that date, if such 
date is earlier than the date on which the adve rse use became generally known in that Member, 
provided that the geographical indication is  not used or registered in bad faith. 
 
8. The provisions of this Section shall in no way prejudice the right of any person to use, in the course of trade, that person's name or the name of  that person's predecessor in business, except where 
such name is used in such a manner as to mislead the public. 
 
9. There shall be no obligation under this Agreem ent to protect geographical indications which 
are not or cease to be protected in their country of origin, or which have fallen into disuse in that 
country.  
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 ANNEX 
 
Multilateral System of Notification and Registration of Geographical Indications
 
 1. Participation 
Each WTO Member may elect to participate by notifying geographical indications into the 
multilateral system of notification and registrati on of geographical indications ("the system") 
established by this [instrument]  by [action to be taken]…
1 ("the participating Member"). 
Members that do not notify geographical indicati ons into the system will be deemed to be 
"non-participating Members". 
 
2. Notification 
 Substantive conditions 
 
2.1 Each participating Member shall be entitled to notify to the [body administering the system] 
(the "administering body") each geographical indication which:  
 (a) meets the definition of a geographical indication specified in paragraph 1 of 
Article 22 of the TRIPS Agreement;  and 
  (b) is protected in its territory and h as not fallen into disuse in that territory. 
  Contents of the notification  
 
2.2 The notification shall include:  
 (a) the geographical indication itself in the language or languages in which it is protected 
in its country of origin and, where the geographical indication is in characters other than Latin characters, a transliteration into  Latin characters using the phonetics of the 
language in which the notification is made; 
                                                     
 
1 The procedure relating to partic ipation will depend on the legal form of the multilateral system. WT/GC/W/547 
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  (b) any available translation of the geogra phical indication itself into the language in 
which the notification is made if the lan guage or languages in which the geographical 
indication is protected in the country of orig in is not one of the languages referred to 
in paragraph 2.4 below; 
  (c) a reference to the legal instrument by which the geographical indication is protected 
in the notifying Member, for example the relevant national or regional legislative or administrative text or the relevant judicial decision, including, where applicable, the 
registration number of the geographical indication in the notifying Member;  where 
the text of the legal instrument in questi on has already been notified to the WTO and 
circulated as a TRIPS Council document, re ference shall be made to the relevant 
TRIPS Council document; 
 
 (d) where available, the date on which the geographical indication first received 
protection in the Member making the notifica tion (the "notifying Member") and, if 
applicable, any date for the expiration of  the protection currently accorded;  and 
 
 (e) the geographical area from which the good must  originate in order to be eligible to be 
identified by the geographical indication. 
 2.3 The notification may also include any other information that the notifying Member considers 
might be useful in facilitating protection of the geographical indication, such as: 
 
(a) suggested translations of the geographi cal indication in languages other than the 
language or languages referred to in paragraph 2.2(a) and 2.2(b) above; 
(b) information on the natural or legal pers ons that have, according to the law of the 
notifying Member, the right to use the geogr aphical indication;  these natural or legal 
persons may be designated collectively or, where collective designation is not 
possible, by name; 
(c) any bilateral, regional and/or multilate ral agreement under which the geographical 
indication is protected, for information purposes. 
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 Language of the notification 
2.4 The notification shall be made in English, Fr ench or Spanish.  The notification, with the 
exception of the geographical indication itself, shall be translated by the administering body into the 
other two languages. 
 
Form of the notification 
2.5 Notifications shall be made on the basis of a format to be adopted by the Council for TRIPS 
prior to the entry into operation of the system.  The format of the notification shall be such as to limit 
notifications, wherever possible, to no longer than  two pages, not counting any attached or cross-
referenced texts.  The [committee responsible for managing the system] shall have the authority to 
modify this format as it considers appropriate.  
 Circulation to Members and publication of notification 
 
2.6. The administering body shall, immediately afte r receipt of a notification, circulate it to all 
Members and publish it on the Internet. The administering body shall also transmit any notification regarding trademarks which contai n or consist of a notified geogra phical indications, pursuant to 
paragraphs 3.3, 4(c) and 5(b) below. 
 
3. Registration 
3.1 The administering body shall register notifie d geographical indications on the Register of 
Geographical Indications ("the Register") in accordance with the following procedures:
 
 
3.2 Any Member may, within 18 months from the date on which the notification was circulated 
and published, lodge a reservation with the administering body to the effect that it considers the notified geographical indication not to be eligible fo r protection in its territory for any of the grounds 
mentioned in this paragraph or that it has serious  doubts in such respect.  The reservation shall 
identify the applicable ground or grounds and be du ly substantiated.  A reservation may be based on 
any of the following grounds: WT/GC/W/547 
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 (a) the notified geographical indication does not meet the definition of a geographical 
indication specified in paragraph 1 of  Article 22 of the TRIPS Agreement; 
 
 (b) the notified geographical indication, alt hough literally true as to the territory, region 
or locality in which the goods identified by  it originate, falsely represents to the 
public that the goods originate in its terr itory, as provided for in paragraph 4 of 
Article 22 of the TRIPS Agreement; 
 
 (c) the notified geographical indication is id entical with the term customary in common 
language as the common name for a wine or spirit in the territory of the Member 
lodging the reservation ("the challenging Member ") or, with respect to products of the 
vine, with the customary name of a grape variety existing in the territory of the 
challenging Member as of the date of entr y into force of the WTO Agreement, or,  
with respect to plants or animals, with th e name of a plant variety or animal breed 
existing in the territory of that Member as of  the date of entry into force of the WTO 
Agreement as amended, as provided for in paragraph 6 of Article 24 of the TRIPS 
Agreement. 
 Articles 24.4 and 24.5 of the TRIPS Agreement cannot  form the basis of a reservation but may be 
invoked under domestic law at any tim e if the legislation so permits. 
 
3.3. For information purposes only, if so requested by a participating Member filing a notification, 
a WTO Member will also notify the existence, if any, of a trademark that contains or consists of the 
notified geographical indication.  
3.4 Where a reservation has been lodged in resp ect of a notified geographical indication within 
the 18-month period referred to in paragraph 3. 2 above, the notifying Member and the challenging 
Member shall, before the expiry of that period,  enter into negotiations aimed at resolving the 
disagreement if so requested by the notifying country, in line with Article 24.1 of the TRIPS 
Agreement. 
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 3.5 (a) The administering body shall, at the expiry of the 18-month period referred to in 
paragraph 3.2 above, register the notifie d geographical indication on the Register. 
 
 (b) To the extent that a reservation lodged in  respect of that geographical indication has 
not been withdrawn by the challenging Memb er at the time of registration, the 
registration shall be accompanied by an annotation referring to the reservation. 
 (c) Where the reservation is withdrawn by the challenging Member after the 
geographical indication has been registered, the administering body  shall record the 
withdrawal on the Register. 
 
 Form of the Register and contents of registration 
3.6 The Register shall take the form of a sear chable on-line database, freely accessible to all 
Members and to the public. 
 
3.7 The registration of a geographical indication shall consist of the recording of:   (a) the geographical indication itself, as notif ied under paragraph 2.2(a) above, together 
with any translation submitted under paragr aph 2.2(b) or para graph 2.3(a) above; 
 
 (b) the notifying Member;   (c) the reference to the legal instrument  referred to in paragraph 2.2(c) above; 
 
 (d) any date(s) indicated under paragraph 2.2(d) above; 
  (e) a reference to the document containing th e notification of the geographical indication; 
 
 (f) any annotations relating to reservations lodged in respect of the geographical 
indication;  and 
  (g) any other information that the [comm ittee responsible for ma naging the system] may 
decide to include in the registration. 
 WT/GC/W/547 
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 4. Legal effects in participating Members 
 Each participating Member which has not lodged a reservation in respect of a notified 
geographical indication within the 18-month period referred to in paragraph 3.2 above, or which has 
withdrawn such a reservation, shall: 
  (a) subject to subparagraph (b) below, provide the legal means for interested parties to 
use the registration of the geographical indication as a rebuttable presumption of the eligibility for protection of that geographical indication; 
 
 (b) not refuse protection of the registered  geographical indication on any of the grounds 
referred to in paragraph 3.2(a), (b) and (c) above; 
 
 (c) notify the [administering body] of any a pplications for trademark registration that 
contain or consist of a geographical indication that has been registered or applied for, 
if the notifying participating Member has required so. 
 
5. Legal effects in non-participating Members 
 Each non-participating Member which has not lodged a reservation in respect of a notified 
geographical indication within the 18-month period referred to in paragraph 3.2 above, or which has 
withdrawn such a reservation, shall   
(a) not refuse protection of the registered geographical indication for any of the grounds 
referred to in paragraph 3.2(a), (b) and (c) above; 
 (b) notify the [administering body] of any a pplications for trademark registration that 
contain or consist of a geographical indication that has been registered or applied for, 
if the notifying participating Member has required so. 
 
6. Legal effects in least-developed country Members 
 With respect to any least-developed country  Member, any legal effect referred to in 
paragraphs 4 and 5 above shall only become applicable when that Member is required to apply the 
provisions of Section 3 of Part II of the TRIPS Agreement.  WT/GC/W/547 
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7. Modifications of notifications and registrations 
 Each participating Member may, at any time,  notify the modification of a notification it has 
made earlier of a geographical indication.  The prov isions of paragraphs 2 to 6 above shall apply to 
the notification of such modifications. 
8. Withdrawals 
8.1 Each participating Member may, at any time , withdraw a notification it has made earlier of a 
geographical indication.  If the geographical indi cation ceases to fulfil the conditions for protection, 
including the requirement that a geographical indication be protected in the territory of the notifying 
Member and has not fallen into disuse in that te rritory (Article 24.9 of the TRIPS Agreement), the 
notifying Member shall withdraw the relevant notifi cation.  Any withdrawal shall be notified to the 
administering body. 
8.2 The administering body shall, immediately afte r receipt of the notification of withdrawal of a 
notification of a geographical indication by a Member , circulate the notification of withdrawal to all 
Members and publish it on the Internet.  Any regist ration of the geographical indication shall be 
cancelled from the Register.  
9. Fees and costs 
9.1 Each notification of a geographical indication or of the modification of that notification shall 
be subject to the payment of a fee.  However, an y participating least-devel oped country Member shall 
be exempted from the payment of such fees.  
9.2 The amounts of the fees shall be fixed by  the [committee responsible for managing the 
system] so as to cover all the expenses incurre d by the administering body in connection with the 
administration of the system. 
9.3 The initial cost of setting up and administering the multilateral system shall be borne by the 
central budget of the administering body and subsequently reimbursed from the fees.  
9.4.  The participating Member may fix, at its ow n discretion, and collect, for its own benefit, a fee 
which it may require from the applicant for multila teral registration or from the holder of the WT/GC/W/547 
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 multilateral registration in connecti on with the filing of the multilatera l application [or the renewal of 
the multilateral registration]. 
9.5.  The registration of a geographical indicati on shall be subject to the advance payment of a 
multilateral fee which shall include, 
(i)  a basic fee; (ii)  an individual fee. 
9.6.  The basic fee shall cover the costs described in paragraphs 9.2 and 9.3.   
9.7.  The individual fee shall cover the costs incurred by WTO Members requested to provide, for 
a given application, 
(a)  the information indicated in paragraph 3. 3 in a manner that would cover but not exceed 
the cost for a given Member to produce a search report indicating whether there are any trademarks containing or consisting of  a notified geographical indication.  
(b) the information regarding the monitoring regarding conflicting trademark applications 
subsequent to the registration of a geographical indication pursuant to paragraph 4(c) and 5(b) 
above. 
9.8.  WTO Members shall notify the national component of the individual fee which it wishes to 
receive, amount which may be changed later but may not be higher than the equivalent of the amount 
which the relevant administration of the WTO Member would be entitled to receive from a national 
applicant in the framework of a domestic procedure, where such an individual fee is payable.  The 
notification of a national component should be  based on a duly substantiated statement. 
9.9.  For each individual application, the WTO Secretariat will calculate the addition of 9.5(i) and 
(ii) above and indicate it to the applicant.  The applicant WTO Member will pay those fees in 
advance. 
9.10.  WTO Members shall commit to provide trade -related technical assistance to developing and 
least-developed countries with a view to enabling them  to profit and actively participate in the system.  WT/GC/W/547 
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 10. Contact point 
 Each Member shall notify to the administering body a contact point at the national level, from 
which other Members can obtain clarifications or  further information on geographical indications 
notified by that Member.  The administering body shall circulate the notification to all Members and 
publish it on the Internet. 
11.  [Committee responsible for managing the system] 
12. [Administering body] 
13. [Withdrawals from the system] 
14. [Review by competent committee] 
15. [Date of entry into operation] 
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