By Nathaniel DeLucia
Leading members
of both houses of Congress have come together to express their concern over the
proposed changes to the Lisbon Agreement that would grant more protection for
geographical Indications of Origin (GIs).
The US is upset over this development for two reasons. First, WIPO, the organization that oversees
the Lisbon Agreement, is allowing a small group of members to enact these
changes without participation of a large number of other countries, including
the US. This is in contrast with the
WIPO’s general policy of allowing all members to fully participate in any
negotiations resulting in a substantial revision of a treaty. Second, stronger GIs will likely hurt US
businesses by preventing, for instance, the use of “parmesan” on cheese unless
it comes from a specific region of Italy or “champagne” on sparkling wine
unless it comes from France.
For a complete
discussion of the US’s objections see IP-Watch’s story, located here.
