WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONTN/IP/W/5
23 October 2002
(02-5799)
Council for Trade-Related Aspects
of Intellectual Property Rights
Special SessionOriginal:  English
PROPOSAL FOR A MULTILATERAL SYSTEM FOR NOTIFICATION AND
REGISTRATION OF GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS FOR WINES AND SPIRITS
BASED ON ARTICLE 23.4 OF THE TRIPS AGREEMENT
Communication from Argentina, Australia,  Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica,
Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salva dor, Guatemala, Honduras, Japan, Namibia,
New Zealand, Philippines, Chinese Taipei, and the United States
The present document reproduces a communication from the above-mentioned Members with
the request that it be circulated to the Special Sess ion of the Council for TRIPS.  It was circulated as
an advance copy at the third Special Session of 20 September 2002.
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With a view to achieving the Special Session Chair's suggested target date for submission of
main proposals for the multilateral system for the notification and registration of geographical
indications for wine and spirits eligible for protection in participating WTO Members' territories in
accordance with Article 23.4 of the TRIPS Agreement (multilateral system), the Singapore Ministerial
Declaration, and paragraph 18 of the Doha Declaration1 of November 20012,  Argentina, Australia,
Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican  Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala,
Honduras, Japan, Namibia, New Zealan d, Philippines, Chinese Taipei, and the United States propose
the following multilateral system.
Introduction
Ministers, in paragraph 18 of the Doha Ministerial Declaration, directed the TRIPS Council to
negotiate, by the Fifth Ministerial Conference, as provided for in TRIPS Article 23.4, on the
establishment of a multilateral system of notification and registration for geographical indications for
wines and spirits.
                                                     
1 Paragraph 18 of the Doha Declaration extends the scope of the multilateral system to geographical
indications for spirits.
2 WT/MIN(01)/DEC/1.TN/IP/W/5
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During the discussions in the TRIPS Council under Article 23.4 prior to the Doha Ministerial
Conference and in the Special Sessions of the TRIPS Council held since then, a number of delegations
have emphasized that the purpose of any system established under Article 23.4 is to "facilitate" the
protection of geographical indications rather than to ensure protection for particular indications.3
Recognizing that not all WTO Members produce wines and spirits for export, these
delegations have expressed the view that the system developed by the TRIPS Council should not
create new obligations or otherwise alter the rights and obligations of Members under Section 3 of
Part II of the TRIPS Agreement.  In particular, these delegations recognize the need for a system that
accommodates the various systems currently used by WTO Members to protect geographical
indications.  They further believe that the system of notification and registration should not impose
undue burdens or costs on the WTO Secretariat.  They also believe that, consistent with the mandateof Article 23.4, the system should be voluntary.  Finally, recognizing in particular the needs of
developing and least-developed countries, they believe that any system of notification and registration
for geographical indications must be non-burdensome for the WTO Members choosing to participate.
A. T
HE MANDATE
Article 23.4 of the TRIPS Agreement calls for negotiations to be undertaken in the TRIPS
Council for " the establishment of a multilateral system of notification and registration of
geographical indications for wines eligible for protection in the Members participating in the system ".
The paragraph makes clear that the purpose of the system is to facilitate the protection of geographical
indications for wines under Section 3 of Part II of the TRIPS Agreement.
The Singapore Ministerial Declaration included "spirits" in the scope of preliminary work
relevant to a notification and registration system for spirits.
Paragraph 18 of the Doha Declaration mandates the scope and coverage of the multilateral
system.  It confines the scope and coverage of the multilateral system envisaged under Article 23.4 to
geographical indications for wines and spirits eligible for protection in those Members participating in
the system.
The reference in paragraph 18 of the Doha Declaration to the TRIPS Council " completing the
work started…. on the implementation of Article 23.4…… " confirms the intention of Ministers' that,
with the exception of geographical indications for spirits, the multilateral system be otherwiseestablished in accordance with the mandate provided in Article 23.4.
B. H
OW THE PROPOSED SYSTEM MEETS THE MANDATE
We believe that this proposal describes a multilateral system that fulfils each of the criteria
the above-mentioned delegations identified as appropriate for the system of notification andregistration of geographical indications for wines and spirits to be negotiated under Article 23.4 and
adheres to the Ministerial mandate.
                                                     
3 Article 23.4 states:  "In order to facilitate the protection of geographical indications for wines,
negotiations shall be undertaken in the Council for TRIPS concerning the establishment of a multilateral systemof notification and registration of geographical indications for wines eligible for protection in those Membersparticipating in the system".TN/IP/W/5
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− The proposed system will not impose substantive obligations regarding protection of
geographical indications beyond those currently set out in Section 3 of Part II of theTRIPS Agreement with regard to wines and spirits.  Nothing in this proposal
prejudices any of the rights of Members as enshrined in the TRIPS Agreement.
− The proposed system will be adaptable to the various regimes of WTO Members for
protection of geographical indications for wines and spirits where those regimes are
consistent with the TRIPS Agreement.  The TRIPS Agreement makes clear, in
Article 1, that WTO Members are free to determine the appropriate method of
implementing the provisions of this Section of the Agreement within their own legal
system and practice.  The responses to the questions issued under Article 24.2 of the
TRIPS Agreement show the mechanisms used by Members for the purposes of
implementation.  The mechanisms include: various systems of registration or
recognition for geographical indications, trademark law registration, including the useof certification marks, consumer protection legislation, for example legislation relating
to unfair competition, alcohol beverage labelling laws, and relevant case law.
− The proposed system will "facilitate the protection of" geographical indications for
wines and spirits for Members choosing to participate in the system.  The proposed
system does this by providing an uncomplicated and efficient system for notificationand registration of the geographical indications for wines and spirits that are
recognized in the national systems of individual WTO Members.  All WTO Members
will be provided with the notifications made by individual WTO Members and
updated copies of the World Trade Organiza tion Multilateral System of Geographical
Indications for Wines and Spirits ("the Multilateral System for Wines and Spirits").This information will then be readily available to all WTO Members, who choose to
participate in the system, for use in thei r decision-making processes relating to the
protection of geographical indications for wines and spirits.
− The proposed system will allow participating WTO Members and others to notify
information regarding their domestic geographical indications for wines and spirits
without undue cost or complexity and to use the information submitted without undue
burden or cost.  Its provisions directly addr ess the practical aspects of facilitating the
protection of geographical indications for wines and spirits for all Members of the
WTO to whom participation in the system is of interest.  For this reason, the system is
deliberately designed to be simple and to rely, as much as possible, on proceduresfamiliar to all Members, such as the system of notification.
− The proposed system will allow voluntary participation, as reflected by the words in
Article 23.4, "in those Members participating in the system."  A WTO Member is notrequired to participate in this system to obtain full protection under the TRIPS
Agreement for its geographical indications for wines and spirits.  The system will notprejudice Members who due to their own domestic circumstances choose not to
participate.
− The proposed system will be negotiated with all the Members of the TRIPS Council,
under the mandate provided in the TRIPS Agreement and it will be administered, in an
efficient and not costly way, by the WTO.  Information relating to the system of
notification and registration will be available to all WTO Members in a transparent
manner without undue administrative burdens and costs on the WTO Secretariat.TN/IP/W/5
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− The proposed system is entirely volunt ary and would not impose undue burdens, thus
satisfying the needs for special and differential treatment measures for developing andleast-developed countries.  For the purposes of the proposed system, this would be a
self-regulating special and differential treatment mechanism for developing countries
and least-developed countries that are concerned about their ability to participate in the
system (bearing in mind that least-developed countries are not presently required toimplement a system of protection for geographical indications).
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Multilateral System for Notification and Registration of Geographical Indications
Established under Article 23.4 of the TRIPS Agreement
1. Notification
WTO Members wishing to participate in the system will submit  4 to the Secretariat a list of
domestic geographical indications for wines and spirits recognized as eligible for protection under
their national legislation indicating for each indication the date on which recognition was granted by
the notifying Member and the date, if any, on which protection will expire.
In the interests of transparency and to ease use of the information by WTO Members
participating in multilateral agreements for the protection of geographical indications for wines and
spirits, those WTO Members participating in such agreements must indicate the agreements underwhich each of the notified geographical indications is protected.
Subsequently, Members participating in the system will notify only additional domestic
geographical indications for wines and spirits recognized as eligible for protection under their national
legislation and will withdraw the notification of any previously notified geographical indication forwine or spirits no longer recognized as eligible for such protection under their national legislation.
WTO Members may decide to participate or discontinue participation in the system at any
time by withdrawing their notifications.
2. Registration
Following receipt of notifications from participating Members, the Secretariat shall compile a
list on behalf of all WTO Members in the form of a searchable database of all notified geographical
indications for wines and spirits.  This database shall be known as the World Trade Organization
Geographical Indications Multilateral System for Wines and Spirits (the "Multilateral System forWines and Spirits").  The Multilateral System for Wines and Spirits shall include:  the geographical
indication for the wine or the spirit that has been notified, the WTO Member who made the
notification, the date on which the indication was protected by the notifying Member; the expiration
date of this protection, if any, in the notifying Member and any agreement for geographical
indications for wines and spirits under which the indication is protected.  In accordance with
Article 23.3, the same or similar geographical indication for wines and spirits may be submitted by
more than one WTO Member, provided the geographical indication is recognized by each notifyingWTO Member in accordance with its national regime for protecting geographical indications for
wines and spirits.
Copies of the registered geographical indications for wines and spirits shall be distributed to
all WTO Members.  To ensure maximum transparency, the Secretariat shall, in addition to distributingcopies of the lists to WTO Members, make the lists accessible, in searchable form, on the WTO's
Internet Web Site ( www.wto.org) .
After the initial notification, the WTO Secretariat shall revise the database of notified
geographical indications for wines and spirits, adding or deleting indications in accordance with WTOMembers' notifications or a request for removal received from the WTO Member who originally
made the notification.
                                                     
4 The format for submissions shall be established through negotiations or, if the WTO Members so
agree, by the Secretariat.TN/IP/W/5
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Decisions to grant protection for geographical indications for wines and spirits shall occur at
the national level.  If any WTO Member objects to the registration of a geographical indication for
wines or spirits notified by another Member, the former may oppose the recognition of that
geographical indication in accordance with the laws of the notifying Member.
If an opposition is successful, the notifying Member shall request that the Secretariat remove
the registration of the challenged indication from th e Multilateral System for Wines and Spirits.  The
registration for that indication shall be removed from the Multilateral System and shall not be
included in any updated lists circulated to Members.
3. Legal Effects under National Legislation
WTO Members choosing to participate in the system will commit to consult, along with other
sources of information, the WTO Geographical Indications Multilateral System for Wines and Spirits
when making decisions regarding recognition and protection of geographical indications for wines
and spirits in accordance with their national le gislation.  Information obtained from the WTO
Multilateral System for Wines and Spirits would be taken into account in making those decisions in
accordance with that national legislation.  This proposal does not affect the applicability of Article 24of the TRIPS Agreement;  all Article 24 exceptions to protection would remain in force under national
law.
WTO Members not participating in the system will be encouraged to refer to the WTO
Multilateral System for Wines and Spirits, along with other sources of information, in makingdecisions under their national legislation involving recognition or protection of geographical
indications for wines and spirits in order to ensure that such decisions are based on the most complete
information available.  However, this system would not give rise to specific obligations for Members
that decide not to participate.  Members are therefore free to consider their own capacity to take on
obligations emanating from particip ating in the proposed system.
Any geographical indication for wines or spirits established in accordance with national
legislation is entitled to protection under Section 3 of Part II of the TRIPS Agreement, whether or not
it is registered in the WTO database.
4. Voluntary Participation
Participation in this system is voluntary.  Furthermore, the system will not prejudice or affect
the protection already contained in Section 3 of Part II of the TRIPS Agreement for geographical
indications for those Members choosing not to participate.  Requiring participation would increase
TRIPS obligations for WTO Members outside a full trade round and would be contrary to Article 23.4
of the TRIPS Agreement.  A voluntary participation system fully adheres to the mandate in
paragraph 18 of the Ministerial Declaration.
This system satisfies the need for special or differential treatment measures for
least-developed and developing countries because it is entirely voluntary.
5. Monitoring the System
The TRIPS Council shall examine the operation of the multilateral system for notification and
registration of geographical indications for wines and spirits four years after its establishment to
evaluate its effectiveness in facilitating protection of Members' geographical indications for wines and
spirits in accordance with Section 3 of Part II of the TRIPS Agreement.  This examination shall not
constitute a re-negotiation of the system.
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