Outcome Second Session Lisbon Working Group (August 30-September 3, 2010)

Highlights

The following proposals received wide support from the Working Group:

• Proposal to open up the Lisbon system to the accession of competent intergovernmental organizations (IGOs);
• Proposal to introduce two separate definitions in the Lisbon Agreement:  one for appellations of origin (along the lines of Art. 2 of the Lisbon Agreement), and the other for geographical indications (along the lines of Art. 22.1 of the TRIPS Agreement);
• Proposal to extend the protection conferred by the Lisbon Agreement to traditional non-geographical indications.

Future Work

The Working Group requested the International Bureau to prepare for its next session (probably, in the spring of 2011) draft provisions on various topics, notably:

• Definitions
• Scope of protection
• Prior users
• Applications for trans-border appellations of origin and geographical indications
• Accession criteria for IGO’s

The Working Group also invited the International Bureau to prepare a study on the possibility of dispute settlement within the Lisbon system (for discussion by the Working Group, but possibly at a later stage).

For more detailed information, please refer to the Summary by the Chair that was adopted by the Working Group at the end of the second session.