WIPO Director General Francis Gurry welcomed some 400 negotiators to the Diplomatic Conference for the Adoption of a New Act of the Lisbon Agreement for the Protection of Appellations of Origin and their International Registration. The Diplomatic Conference is taking place at WIPO headquarters in Geneva between May 11 and 21, 2015.
The Lisbon Agreement for the Protection of Appellations of Origin and their International Registration was originally concluded in 1958 and has 28 members.
Mr. Gurry underlined shifts in technology and international commerce since the Lisbon Agreement’s establishment, saying that brands and identifiers play an indispensable role for contemporary consumers in a globalized economy.
He called the talks the “most-significant normative development this year” at WIPO and referred to the “heavy burden that rests on the shoulders of the negotiators.”
The Diplomatic Conference elected as President Ambassador Luis Enrique Chávez Basagoitia, Permanent Representative of Peru to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva.
Mr. Chávez encouraged participation by WIPO’s full membership in the discussions of the Diplomatic Conference, stressing the need to search for common understanding with the goal of expanding the membership of the Lisbon Agreement.
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