A number of international treaties deal partly or entirely with the protection of geographical indications. Below are links to relevant treaties administered by WIPO, as well as to the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
National and regional laws governing the protection of geographical indications can be searched in WIPO’s CLEA database.
WIPO-administered treaties providing general standards of protection
- Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property. The first major international agreement covering patents, designs and marks. Article 10 and 10ter of this Convention address false indications of the source of goods
- Madrid Agreement for the Repression of False or Deceptive Indications of Source on Goods
WIPO-administered treaties governing registration systems for obtaining protection
- Lisbon Agreement for the Protection of Appellations of Origin and their International Registration
- Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks
- Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks (which also provides for the international registration of certification marks)
WTO TRIPS Agreement
The TRIPS Agreement (articles 22 to 24) addresses the international protection of GIs within the framework of the World Trade Organization (WTO)- Overview of the TRIPS Agreement on the WTO website