6. The representative of Argentina said that she did not have any specific comments on the issue of duration and renewals of registrations but wished to comment on both the issue of modifications and withdrawals of notifications and registrations and the issue of termination of participation in the system. The joint proposal provided for a simple, clear and transparent mechanism for modifications and withdrawals of notifications to the WTO Secretariat, acting as the system's administering body. In contrast, the EC proposal was not clear on the issue of withdrawals. For example, the second sentence of paragraph 8.1 of the EC proposal provided that, if the geographical indication ceased to fulfil the conditions for protection, the notifying Member should withdraw the relevant notification. There was no provision in the EC proposal to cover a case where a notifying Member did not make any notification of withdrawal. If, for example, a geographical indication had fallen into disuse or was no longer protected in its country of origin, what would happen if that Member did not make such notification? She raised this concern with the strong legal effects of the EC proposal in mind. Such a situation could be damaging to producers in third countries since it could create great uncertainty. For example, if a notified geographical indication was withdrawn after a year because it had fallen into disuse, what would happen with the losses that producers of third countries had incurred during that period due to the legal effects produced by that notification, i.e. the prohibition to use that name or register it as a trademark? This showed that, as regards legal effects, the EC proposal would create uncertainties.
7. Regarding the termination of participation in the system, she said that the joint proposal was quite clear and transparent. Under paragraph 9 of the proposal, a Member could simply notify when it no longer wished to participate in the system. In contrast, paragraph 13 of the EC proposal only had the words "[w]ithdrawals from the system" in brackets. Members needed to know whether the withdrawal from the system was, or was not, provided for in the EC proposal. In any case, given the legal effects of the EC system on participating and non-participating Members, Members needed to know exactly what the content of paragraph 13 of the EC proposal would be.
