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).
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
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
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
