Press Release: EU launches bold WTO initiative to protect products with unique geographical indications, from Stilton cheese to Basmati rice

The European Union launch a bold initiative on 26 June 2002 to improve the protection of geographical indications, which are often associated with high-quality and cultural heritage products the world over. The EU presented two communications on geographical indications to the World Trade Organisation Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Council in Geneva on 25-26 June. This initiative is co-sponsored by the European Union and its 15 Member States, along with more than a dozen other countries, many of them from the developing world.