WTO Reports Continued Progress on Multilateral Register for Geographical Indications for Wines and Spirits

In the WTO’s continuing efforts to move forward the 13-year old agenda on a multilateral register for geographical indications for wines and spirits, the WTO reported last week that a small working group representing the divergent positions of the various member countries had completed two additional sections of “emerging text” for the register proposal.  “Emerging text” represents a single document which has the elements of each of the various WTO member positions reflected in bracketed text to reflect the differences between the positions, and unbracketed text to reflect the areas of agreement.  While the development of the emerging text is a positive step forward, the majority of such text still remains bracketed, indicating that any agreement on a format for a multilateral register for geographical indications for wines and spirits still remains fairly elusive.

To read the WTO press release on the negotiations click on the following link: