LegalizeCouncil Decision (EU) 2019/1754 of 7 October 2019 on the accession of the European Union to the Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement on Appellations of Origin and Geographical Indications
Article 1
The accession of the European Union to the Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement on Appellations of Origin and Geographical Indications (‘the Geneva Act’) is hereby approved on behalf of the Union.
The text of the Geneva Act is attached to this Decision.
Article 2
The President of the Council shall designate the person empowered to deposit, on behalf of the Union, the instrument of accession provided for in point (ii) of Article 28(2) of the Geneva Act, in order to express the consent of the Union to be bound by the Geneva Act, as well as to make the declaration and notification attached to the instrument of accession provided for in Article 5 of this Decision.
Article 3
Member States which were parties to the Lisbon Agreement on 26 February 2020, namely Bulgaria, Czechia, France, Italy, Hungary, Portugal and Slovakia, are hereby authorised, in full respect of the Union’s exclusive competence, to ratify or accede, alongside the Union, to the Geneva Act, strictly to the extent that their accession is necessary to preserve, in the interest of the Union, the seniority and continuity of the protection of the appellations of origin already registered by those Member States under the Lisbon Agreement and to comply with the obligations provided for by Article 11 of Regulation (EU) 2019/1753 of the European Parliament and of the Council ([^E0001]).
Article 4
In the Special Union, the Union and those Member States which have ratified or acceded to the Geneva Act pursuant to Article 3 of this Decision shall be represented by the Commission in accordance with Article 17(1) TEU. The Union shall be responsible for ensuring the exercise of the rights and fulfilment of the obligations of the Union pursuant to Article 3 of this Decision.
The Commission shall make all the necessary notifications under the Geneva Act on behalf of the Union and those Member States.
In particular, the Commission shall be designated as the Competent Authority referred to in Article 3 of the Geneva Act, responsible for the administration of the Geneva Act in the territory of the Union and for communications with the International Bureau of the WIPO under the Geneva Act and the Common Regulations under the Lisbon Agreement and the Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement (the ‘Common Regulations’).
In respect of geographical indications protecting craft and industrial products within the meaning of Regulation (EU) 2023/2411 of the European Parliament and of the Council ([^E0002]), the European Union Intellectual Property Office shall be designated as the Competent Authority referred to in Article 3 of the Geneva Act and shall be responsible for the administration of the Geneva Act in the territory of the Union and for notifications and communications with the International Bureau of the WIPO under the Geneva Act and the Common Regulations.
The Union shall vote in the Assembly of the Special Union and the Member States which have ratified or acceded to the Geneva Act shall not exercise their right to vote.
Article 5
In accordance with Article 29(4) of the Geneva Act, a declaration attached to the instrument of accession shall specify an extension by one year of the time limit referred to in Article 15(1) of the Geneva Act, and the periods referred to in Article 17 of the Geneva Act, in accordance with the procedures specified in the Common Regulations.
In accordance with point (a) of Rule 5(3) of the Common Regulations, a notification to the Director-General of WIPO attached to the instrument of accession shall specify the requirement that, for the protection of a registered appellation of origin or geographical indication in the territory of the Union, the application shall, in addition to the mandatory contents set out in Rule 5(2) of the Common Regulations, indicate particulars concerning, in the case of an appellation of origin, the quality or characteristics of the good and its connection with the geographical environment of the geographical area of production, and, in the case of a geographical indication, the quality, reputation or other characteristic of the good and its connection with the geographical area of origin.
Article 6
This Decision shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
[^E0001]: Regulation (EU) 2019/1753 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2019 on the action of the Union following its accession to the Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement on Appellations of Origin and Geographical Indications (OJ L 271, 24.10.2019, p. 1).
[^E0002]: Regulation (EU) 2023/2411 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 October 2023 on geographical indication protection for craft and industrial products (OJ L, 2023/2411, 27.10.2023, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/2411/oj).
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