This short note presumes some knowledge of the general background to the differences between the European Union (EU) and the United States (US) in relation to Geographical Indications (GIs). For those unfamiliar with the debate, the key difference is that the US believes that GIs are best protected by means of trademarks while the EU considers specific or sui generis law are more appropriate. The US and the EU are both competing in Asia to promote these different approaches to the protection of GIs through an ever-widening number of bilateral and/or pluri-lateral trade agreements. This brief article shows that the different approaches are not compatible, and that third countries might be making agreements that are impossible to reconcile. In addition, it raises the question whether the draft Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement is compatible with the WTO TRIPS Agreement.
Global Trade and Customs Journal