86 WINE LAW The 1994 TRIPS Agreement established what now amounts to international minimum standards of protection of geographical indications. It requires the World Trade Organization (WTO) Members to provide legal means for interested parties to prevent the use of any designation or presentation of a good that indicates or suggests a false geographical origin of goods. Where such misleading designation has been registered as a trademark, this has constituted a ground for invalidation of the registration. Additional protection under TRIPS is accorded to geographical indications for wine and spirits, which may not be used to identify the same kind of products from other geographical areas, even where the true origin of the goods is indicated or the geographical indication is used in translation, or where it is accompanied by expressions (correctives) such as “kind”, “type”, “style”, “imitation” or the like [Art. 23(1)-(3) TRIPS]. This means that geographical indications that refer to wines and spirits are protected regardless of whether they are misleading to the public or constitute an act of unfair competition14. Earlier, a more effective global protection of appellations of origin was attempted by the 1958 Lisbon Agreement for the Protection of Appellations of Origin and their International Registration15, which expands the territorial effect of appellations of origin16 by requiring the participating countries to protect, on their territories, the appellations of origin registered at the International Bureau of World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)17. The Lisbon Agreement also ensures protection against all usurpation or imitation, including cases in which the product’s true origin is indicated or the appellation is accompanied by correctives (Art. 3). Protection regarding appellations of origin and geographical indications from other countries of the Lisbon Union is enhanced by Article 11 of the 2015 Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement on Appellations of Origin and Geographical Indications18. Together, the Lisbon Agreement and the Geneva Act – commonly referred to as the “Lisbon System” – provide an international registration system for names identifying the geographic origin of products, including products of the vine. Nevertheless, even under the above international framework of protection of foreign geographical indications, countries are not required to extend protection 14 L. Monten, pp. 318-319. 15 As amended on 28 September 1979. 16 The definition of “appellation of origin” has higher requirements than that of “geographical indications” regarding specific qualities or characteristics expressed in the product and containing direct geographical names of countries, regions or localities. The definition of geographical indications in the TRIPS Agreement also includes appellations of origin. J. Addor & A. Grazioli, pp. 868-869. 17 J. Addor & A. Grazioli, p. 877. 18 Adopted by the Diplomatic Conference on 20 May 2015.
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