Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
of GIs but leaves this to signatories to decide. The possible establishment of a
system for the registration of GIs was left to subsequent negotiation and as will
be seen below, after more than 15 years of deliberations, the TRIPS signatories
have yet to reach agreement on this subject.
1. Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property 1883
1
(a) Scope
The first multilateral agreement, which included 'indications of source or
appellations of origin' as objects for protection by national industrial property
laws, was the Paris Convention. According to Art 2(2) the objects of protection
of industrial property include 'indications of source or appellations of origin'.
However, the Paris Convention does not define these terms and does not
expressly require Member States to provide for protection of indications of
source and appellations of origin.
2.03
2.04
Article 2(3) of the Paris Convention provides that 'industrial property shall be
understood in the broadest sense and shall apply not only to industry and
commerce proper, but likewise to agricultural and extractive industries and to all
manufactured or natural products, for example, wines, grain, tobacco leaf, fruit,
cattle, minerals, mineral waters, beer, flowers, and flour'.
(b) Seizure of goods bearing a false indication of source
Article 9(1) of the Paris Convention provides for the seizure upon importation
of all goods unlawfully bearing a legally protected 'trademark or trade name'.
Article 9(3) provides that 'seizure shall take place at the request of the public
prosecutor, or any other competent authority, or any interested party, whether a
natural person or a legal entity, in conformity with the domestic legislation of
each country'.
2.05
2.06
Article 10(1) provides for the application of the provisions of Art 9 'in cases of
direct or indirect use of a false indication of the source of the goods or the
identity of the producer, manufacturer or merchant'
.
Unlike Art 9(1), which
catches misleading indications, Art 10(1) requires that the indications be
factually false and not misleading. Although the provision only speaks of
'indications of source', it is understood that it includes 'appellations of origin', as
referred to in Art 1(2) (Pflüger, 2011 at 274). As Art 10(1) refers to any direct or
indirect use, the false indication does not have to be expressed in words and
1
The Paris Convention was agreed in 1883 and complemented by the Madrid Protocol of 1891. It was revised at
Brussels (1900), Washington (1911), The Hague (1925), London (1934), Lisbon (1958) and Stockholm (1967),
and amended in 1979. The Paris Convention as of September 2013 had 175 contracting parties.
