Switzerland Joins Geneva Act of WIPO’s Lisbon Agreement
August 31, 2021
Switzerland deposited on August 31, 2021 its instrument of accession to the Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement on Appellations of Origin and Geographical Indications (“Geneva Act”).
The instrument of accession was deposited with WIPO Director General Daren Tang by Ambassador Felix Baumann, Ambassador, Deputy Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the United Nations and the other international organizations in Geneva.
The Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement will enter into force, with respect to Switzerland, on December 1, 2021.
This accession will allow Switzerland to protect both its appellations of origin and geographical indications under the Geneva Act, such as its emblematic SWISS WATCHES, L'ETIVAZ or TÊTE DE MOINE for cheese products, VIANDE SÉCHÉE DU VALAIS or ST. GALLER BRATWURST for meat products, to name only a few.
The Geneva Act, which entered into force on February 26, 2020, provides producers of quality products linked to origin, with faster and cheaper access to the international protection of their products’ distinctive designations. It further develops the legal framework of the Lisbon System, which helps promote many globally marketed products such as, for example, BANANO DE COSTA RICA, CHAMPAGNE, TOSCANO (Olive Oil), or BOHEMIA CRYSTAL.
About the Geneva Act
The Geneva Act, which will cover 34 countries with Switzerland, is designed to help ensure that producers of quality products linked to origin are able to protect the distinctive designations of their products in multiple jurisdictions, either as appellations of origin or geographical indications, through a single application with WIPO and the payment of one set of fees.
About the Lisbon System
The Geneva Act, concluded in 2015, and the Lisbon Agreement, concluded in 1958, constitute together the “Lisbon System” for the international registration and protection of appellations of origin and geographical indications. The Lisbon System, which will cover 55 countries with Switzerland, provides protection for names that identify the geographic origin of products such as coffee, tea, fruits, cheese, wine, pottery, glass and cloth.
Examples of appellations of origin and geographical indications include KAMPOT PEPPER (Cambodia), COMTÉ (France), TOKAJ (Hungary), SAROUGH HANDMADE CARPET (Iran), TEQUILA (Mexico), PORTO (Portugal), CHULUCANAS (Peru) and FIGUES DE DJEBBA (Tunisia).