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Outcomes of oriGIn panel discussion on the “Challenges for GIs and country names in the Internet domain names’ environment”
On October 3 in Geneva, within the framework of the fifty-sixth Series of Meetings of the Assemblies of the Member States of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), oriGIn organized a panel discussion on the “Challenges for Geographical Indications (GIs) and country names in the Internet domain names’ environment”.
Before some 130 delegates of the major international institutions working in the area of Intellectual property Rights (IPRs) and Internet domain names (the ICANN and the WIPO) and countries (Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, France, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Laos, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, Peru, Portugal, the Philippines, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, the Unites States of America), the representatives of the “Comité Champagne”, the “Consorzio del Prosciutto di Parma”, the Jamaica Intellectual Property Office (JIPO), the “Association Française pour le Nommage Internet en Coopération” (AFNIC) and oriGIn discussed the current challenges faced by groups and national authorities in ensuring an effective protection of GIs and country names in the Internet domain names’ environment as well as a strategy to improve the current situation.
From the different presentations, it emerged that:
- Protecting GIs and country names in generic Top-Level-Domains (gTLDs) is a challenging task in terms of time, resources and knowledge. Providing all IPRs holders and beneficiaries with effective tools to fight the growing illegal use of geographical names as second level domains is therefore crucial (trademark owners have already the possibility to benefit from the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy – UDRP);
- country code Top-Level-Domains (ccTLDs) that recognize GIs, like trademarks and other IPRs, as a valid title to activate dispute resolution mechanisms, do it in a simple and effective way.
In the following months, oriGIn will continue to work towards the full recognition of GIs as a valid title to active the UDRP in gTLDs.
Please find all presentations delivered during the panel discussion here .
