Geography Reference
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WIPO, together with an indication of the grounds therefor, within a period of
one year from the receipt of the notification of registration and 'provided that
such declaration is not detrimental, in the country concerned, to the other
forms of protection of the appellation which the owner thereof may be entitled
to claim under Article 4'. Article 5(4) provides that such declaration may not be
opposed by the Offices of the countries of the Union after the expiration of
the period of one year from receipt of the notification. Article 5(5) requires the
International Bureau of WIPO, as soon as possible, to notify the office of the
country of origin of any declaration made under Art 5(3) by the office of
another country. Article 5(5) provides that 'the interested party', when
informed by the national office of the declaration made by another country,
'may resort, in that other country, to all the judicial and administrative remedies
open to the nationals of that country'. The Lisbon Agreement does not define
what is meant by 'interested party', although Art 8 envisages that legal action
required for ensuring the protection of appellations of origin may be taken in
each of the countries of the Lisbon Union 'by any interested party, whether a
natural person or a legal entity, whether public or private'.
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Where an appellation which has been granted protection in a given country
pursuant to notification of its international registration has already been used by
third parties in that country from a date prior to such notification, Art 5(6)
provides that the competent office of that country 'shall have the right to grant
to such third parties a period not exceeding two years to terminate such use', on
condition that it advises the International Bureau accordingly during the three
months following the expiration of the period of one year provided for in Art
5(3).
(e) Duration of protection
The Lisbon Agreement makes an unclear reference to the duration of protec-
tion of a registered appellation of origin. Article 7, which is sub-headed 'Period
of Validity', provides: '(1) Registration effected at the International Bureau in
conformity with Article 5 shall ensure, without renewal, protection for the
whole of the period referred to in the foregoing Article.' Article 5 makes no
specific reference to a time period for protection; its only reference to time
periods relates to the process of declaring that certain appellations cannot be
protected. However, since Art 7(1) refers to an absence of renewals, the
assumption is that an appellation is protected for as long as it remains an
appellation in the relevant country of origin.
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(f) Generic appellations
Article 6 provides that an appellation which has been granted protection in one
of the countries of the Lisbon Union pursuant to the procedure under Art 5
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