The EU is preparing the accession to the Geneva Act of Lisbon Agreement on Appellations of Origin and Geographical Indications: https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/initiatives/ares-2017-6308027_en
oriGIn is in favour of the accession by the EU to the Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement. The Geneva Act formally includes GIs under the scope of application of the Lisbon Agreement, which now provides a solid level of protection for all products’ names (appellations of origin and GIs) with unique characteristics linked to their geographical environment. Likewise, the Geneva Act also introduces elements of flexibility in the Lisbon Agreement, which makes it attractive for a variety of legal systems.
Several WIPO Member States are waiting from a strong signal from the EU. The EU accession might open the door to several other ones, laying the foundations for the establishment of a truly international registry for appellations of origin and GIs.
This summary has been extracted from an “oriGIn Alert”, which is a service reserved exclusively to oriGIn members.
