| Abstract [eng] |
The first international agreement inter alia establishing minimum standards for protections of geographical indications and designations of origin – the Paris Convention for Protection of Industrial Property - was adopted in 1883. However, for quite a long time geographical indications were considered to be the kind of intellectual property that nobody really understood and the advantage of their protection was wantonly depreciated. The resurgence of legal protection of geographical indications is considered to be a result of coming into force of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Law (TRIPS) of 1994. Since then the possibilities of using the protection of geographical indications in commercial activity were finally realized. Therefore, European Union as well as developing countries took the initiative to strengthen the protection of traditional geographical names. Nonetheless, this institute is rather new for Lithuania. That is why there is almost no case law on this issue. The distinctive feature of protection of geographical indication is that there is a big variety of concepts for their protection. Various forms of protection of geographical indications might be used on international and national level: starting with sui generis protection of registered geographical indications and designations of origin as well as protections under laws on fair competition and ending with protection based on existing trademark registration systems. Taking into account the variety of protection systems, global development of protection of geographical indications is now at a cross road: European Union with a proposal to enhance the protection of geographical indications currently established by TRIPS Agreement as well as to adopt its registration system is on the one side and United States of America along with other countries making an opposition to the mentioned proposal on the other. It must be noted that a deep division between Europe and the United States as to the manner in which geographical indications should be regulated and big differentiation between of member states of World Trade Organization are likely to lead to a consequence that enhancing of the protection of geographical indications remains the object of ongoing global discussion. Moreover, it is not likely that a compromise will be reach in the nearest future. |
