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Worldwide Symposium on Geographical Indications
June 14 to 16, 2023 - Hybrid mode

Every two years, the Worldwide Symposium on Geographical Indications (GIs) brings together representatives of national administrations, producers of GI products and GI specialists.

The Symposium provides a forum for exchanging ideas and perspectives on issues relating to the use and protection of geographical indications. It also offers technical insights and information on recent developments in the field.

The 2023 edition of the Worldwide Symposium on Geographical Indications is organized jointly by WIPO and the National Intellectual Property Center of Georgia (SAKPATENTI).

WIPO

Ms. Katia Pla Diaz
Tel: + 41 22 338 8957
E-mail

WIPO

Ms. Nathalie Frigant
Tel: + 41 22 338 8629
E-mail

SAKPATENTI

Ms. Mariam Kuzanashvili
Tel: + 995 577 01 12 93
E-mail

June 14 to 16, 2023

Venue: Sheraton Grand Tbilisi Metechi Palace, Tbilisi, Georgia (Hybrid mode)

Registrations for on site and remote participations are closed.

Excursion

An excursion to the Château Mukhrani will take place on June 16, 2023.  This visit will be followed by lunch at the Château Mukhrani Orangery Restaurant.

Château Mukhrani is the first Georgian royal Château, located in Kartli region, 50 minutes by coach from Tbilisi and the first Georgian Château that combines four main components: a vineyard, wine cellar, palace and history.

Participants will enjoy a guided tour and wine tasting to learn about the traditions of Georgian winemaking, Georgian geographical indications, unique Kartli grape varieties grown in Château Mukhrani’s vineyards, as well as modern winemaking techniques used when crafting the finest Château Mukhrani wines.

The excursion is reserved for foreign participants and limited to 80 people.  Participants who wish to take part in the excursion are kindly requested to register.

Find out more

  • Meeting point: Sheraton Hotel at 9.15
  • Coaches will depart from Sheraton Hotel at 09.30
  • Return to Tbilisi approximately 17.00

Participants are advised to wear casual clothing and comfortable shoes.

Program

Day one: Wednesday, June 14, 2023

Times are indicated in Georgian Standard Time (GMT+4).

13.00 Exhibition Opens:  Geographical Indications of Georgia

14.00 – 14.30 Opening of the Worldwide Symposium on Geographical Indications

Opening remarks: Levan Davitashvili
Vice Prime Minister and Minister, Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia, Tbilisi
Opening remarks: Otar Shamugia

Minister, Minister of Environment Protection and Agriculture of Georgia, Tbilisi

Opening remarks: Wang Binying
WIPO Deputy Director General, Brands and Designs Sector, World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Geneva
Opening remarks: Soso Giorgadze
Chairman, National Intellectual Property Center of Georgia (SAKPATENTI), Mtskheta, Georgia

14.30 - 15.30 TOPIC I – Branding and Marketing Strategies for Geographical Indications

Geographical Indications can function as collective and geographical origin‑based brands.  Marketing and branding strategies need to take account of the specificities of geographical indications.  This panel will address the challenges and opportunities that exist in branding of geographical indications.

Moderator and panelists

Moderator: Irene Calboli
Professor of Law, Texas A&M University School of Law, Fort Worth, Texas, United States of America and Academic Fellow and Visiting Professor, Singapore University of Social Sciences, Singapore
Speaker: Luis Fernando Samper
President, 4.0 Brands, Bogota
Duygu Aktaş
Commercial Social Projects Coordinator, Hepsiburada, Istanbul, Türkiye
Mariama Dieme

Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, Organizational Development, Madd de Casamance, ETDS (Économie Territoires et Développement Services), Ziguinchor, Senegal

Flavio Innocenzi

Director of Delle Venezie PDO Wine and Asiago PDO Cheese, Vicenza, Italy

15.30 - 15.45 Q&A session

15.45 - 16.15 Coffee break

16.15 - 17.15 TOPIC II – Update – Selected Developments

This panel will review new developments in geographical indications in selected countries and in the Lisbon System of Appellations of Origin and Geographical Indications.

Moderator and panelists


Moderator: Pilar Montero
Commercial Law Professor, Director of the IP and Digital Innovation Master, University of Alicante, Alicante, Spain

Speaker: Alexandra Grazioli
Director, Lisbon Registry, Department for Trademarks, Industrial Designs and Geographical Indications, Brands and Designs Sector, WIPO

Mery Macharashvili
Head, Department of Trademarks, Geographical Indications and Design, SAKPATENTI


Tamás Király
Policy and Legal Officer, Directorate General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (GROW), European Commission, Brussels

Ewelina Sliwinska
Senior Legal Advisor, Legal Practice Service, Legal Department, European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), Alicante, Spain

Aidyn Artykova
Deputy Director, National Institute of Intellectual Property, Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Astana  

Lai Ying
Deputy Director, Examination Division V, Trademark Office, China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), Beijing

17.15 – 17.30 Q&A Session

18.00  Welcome Reception

Day two: Thursday, June 15, 2023

9.00 - 10.00 TOPIC III – Geographical Indications in the Tourism Value Chain:  Gastronomy Tourism / Enotourism

This Panel will review and discuss the effects that the promotion of geographical indications can have on the development of the tourism sector in the areas from which geographical indications origin.

Moderator and panelists


Moderator: Antonio López de Ávila
Global Manager, Tourism for Rural Development Programme, Market Intelligence and Competitiveness Department, United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Madrid

Speaker: Fernando Cano Treviño
Representative of the Tequila Regulatory Council (CRT), Geneva, Switzerland

Linsey Gallagher
President and Chief Executive Officer, Visit Napa Valley, Napa, United States of America

Kitiyaporn Sathusen
Director of the Geographical Indication Office, Department of Intellectual Property (DIP) of Thailand, Nonthaburi

Prabuddha Ganguli
Chief Executive Officer, Vision‑IPR, Mumbai, India

10.00 - 10.15 Q&A Session

10.15 - 10.45 Coffee Break

10.45 - 11.45 TOPIC IV – Governance and Quality in Geographical Indications

Owing to their nature of collective brands that can be used by a community of individual producers, the success of geographical indication products will depend largely on effective governance and quality control structures.  This panel will review and discuss various approaches to this subject and the challenges that exist on the way.

Moderator and panelists


Moderator: Valérie Pieprzownik
Expert on Geographical Indications, Food and Nutrition Division, United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), Rome

Speaker: Philippe Bardet

Director, Interprofession du Gruyère, Pringy, Switzerland


Nuria Ackermann
Chief Technical Advisor – PAMPAT 2 Project Tunisia, United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), Vienna

René Claude Elogo Metomo
President, Group of Producers of the PGI Poivre de Penja, Penja, Cameroon

Adrienne Thompson

Deputy Director, Registrar, Jamaica Intellectual Property Office (JIPO), Kingston

11.45 - 12.00  Q&A Session

12.00 - 14.00 Lunch Break

14.00 - 15.00 TOPIC V – Geographical Indications, Trade and Common Names

The international protection of geographical indications – bilateral or multilateral – raises a number of issues that continue to be debated. This panel offers an opportunity to present various positions and to discuss the underlying argumentation.

Moderator and panelists


Moderator: Tony Taubman
Director, Intellectual Property, Government Procurement and Competition Division, World Trade Organization (WTO), Geneva

Speaker: Allen Johnson
Consultant, Consortium for Common Food Names (CCFN), Arlington, United States of America

Raimondo Serra
Deputy Head, Unit AGRI.G.3 – Asia and Australasia, European Commission, Brussels
Photo of Mr. Martin Alvez
Martín Alvez
Minister Counsellor, Permanent Mission of Uruguay to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and other Economic International Organizations, Geneva

Riccardo Deserti
President, Organization for an International Geographical Indications Network (oriGIn) and Director General, Consorzio Parmigiano Reggiano, Reggio Emilia, Italy

15.00 -15.15 Q&A Session

15.15 - 15.45 Coffee Break

15.45 - 16.45 TOPIC VI – Cooperation for Geographical Indications – Panel and Open Floor Discussion

Geographical indications are a form of intellectual property that is accessible to producers at all levels of economic development.  In order to allow communities in developing countries to realize the potential of geographical indications, a number of international actors provide cooperation and assistance to such communities.  This panel will review and discuss existing approaches to providing assistance, the needs of the receivers of such assistance as well as ways of better coordinating assistance with a view to rendering it more effective.  Turning into an open-discussion, all participants will have an opportunity to participate actively in the panel.

Moderator and panelists


Moderator: Marcus Höpperger
Senior Director, Department for Trademarks, Industrial Designs and Geographical Indications, Brands and Designs Sector, WIPO
Speaker: Valérie Pieprzownik
FAO, Rome

Stefano Inama
Chief, Technical Cooperation and Enhanced integrated Framework (EIF) Section, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Geneva

Speaker: Alexandra Grazioli
Director, Lisbon Registry, Department for Trademarks, Industrial Designs and Geographical Indications, Brands and Designs Sector, WIPO

Noémie Beigbeder
Team leader for Economic Partnership Agreements and Geographical Indications, Unit AGRI.G.1 – Global issues, WTO and relations with ACP, European Commission, Brussels

Nancy Omelko
Principal Counsel for International Trademark Policy, United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), Alexandria, Virginia, United States of America


Magui Nnoko
DG Advisor, Project Coordination, African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI), Yaoundé

16.45 – 17.00 Q&A Session

17.00  Closing remarks


Marcus Höpperger, WIPO
Mr. Soso Giorgadze, SAKPATENTI

Day three: Friday, June 16, 2023

Excursion (foreign participants only)