Geographical Indications at the WTO: An Unfinished Agenda

The aim of this paper is to provide a concise account of the ongoing WTO discussions on Geographical Indication (GI). Given that the issues presently under discussion have their origin in the Uruguay Round negotiations and the compromise deal on GIs that they culminated into, the paper undertakes a rigorous assessment of the drafting history of the Uruguay Round. It then goes on to track the ongoing negotiations and analyzes various negotiating proposals under consideration on the three GI issues: multilateral register for wines and spirits; extension of the higher level of protection presently available for wines and spirits to all product categories; and the ‘claw-back’ proposal of the European Communities (under the agriculture agenda).