
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).
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.
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

Vice Prime Minister and Minister, Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia, Tbilisi

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

WIPO Deputy Director General, Brands and Designs Sector, World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Geneva

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

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

President, 4.0 Brands, Bogota

Commercial Social Projects Coordinator, Hepsiburada, Istanbul, Türkiye

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

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

Commercial Law Professor, Director of the IP and Digital Innovation Master, University of Alicante, Alicante, Spain

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

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

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

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

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

Global Manager, Tourism for Rural Development Programme, Market Intelligence and Competitiveness Department, United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Madrid

Representative of the Tequila Regulatory Council (CRT), Geneva, Switzerland

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

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

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

Director, Interprofession du Gruyère, Pringy, Switzerland

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

President, Group of Producers of the PGI Poivre de Penja, Penja, Cameroon

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

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

Consultant, Consortium for Common Food Names (CCFN), Arlington, United States of America

Deputy Head, Unit AGRI.G.3 – Asia and Australasia, European Commission, Brussels

Minister Counsellor, Permanent Mission of Uruguay to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and other Economic International Organizations, Geneva

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

Senior Director, Department for Trademarks, Industrial Designs and Geographical Indications, Brands and Designs Sector, WIPO

FAO, Rome

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

Director, Lisbon Registry, Department for Trademarks, Industrial Designs and Geographical Indications, Brands and Designs Sector, WIPO

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

