Agreement expands Geographical Indications

The use of names like parmesan and champagne could be more restricted under a deal signed Thursday. Delegates to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) diplomatic conference on the Lisbon Agreement signed a pact expanding the protection of appellations of origin to include geographical indications and expanding the protections granted under the international registry.

Geographical Indications limit the use of certain product terms or names to those in a particular geographic area. The European Union has been pressing to severely limit the use of a number of cheese, wine and other product names they contend should only come from specific areas.

The U.S. led a 12-nation coalition in opposition to the Lisbon Agreement especially given the fact a number of WIPO member-nations, including the U.S., were not allowed to vote on the measure.

U.S. Dairy Export Council president Tom Suber says it is clear there are “serious WTO consistency problems with the approach Lisbon members have decided to pursue.”