On 28th April, the EU and Mexico concluded the last outstanding element of the negotiation of their new trade agreement (an agreement in principle was reached in April 2018).
As for the chapter concerning GIs :
- More than 340 EU and Mexican GIs will be protected via the agreement;
- The protection is solid as it covers translation and the use of “delocalisers” such “style”, “type”, “method”, etc.;
- The 1997 Spirits Agreement between Mexico and the EU will be incorporated into new agreement, so the more robust protection conferred to GIs will also apply to spirits names recognized under that agreement;
- There will be a few limitations concerning the full protection in Mexico of some EU GIs. None of those limitations, however, weaken the protection acquired by those GIs under the WIPO Lisbon Agreement.
The agreement legal revision is now under way. Following this, it will be transmitted for signature and conclusion to the Mexican and EU competent authorities.
