The Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement on Appellations of Origin and Geographical Indications has officially entered into force. The European Union’s November 26, 2019, accession permitted the Geneva Act’s entry into force three months later, i.e. on February 26, 2020.

The Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement, adopted on May 20, 2015, extends the international registration system established for appellations of origin by the Lisbon Agreement to geographical indications and expands the geographical coverage of this important registration system.

The Act now allows the international registration of geographical indications in addition to appellations of origin through a single registration procedure with WIPO. By means of a single registration procedure and the payment of one set of fees, the holder of a national or regional geographical indication may now obtain the protection of its distinctive sign in the other contracting parties of the Lisbon System.

Source: https://www.wipo.int/lisbon/en/news/2020/news_0001.html.