101. The representative of Argentina offered the example of a homonymous geographical indication for wine, which referred to both a region in Spain and in Argentina. Argentina had not only been prevented from exporting its wine to the European Communities under that homonymous name but its producers had also been treated there as foodstuff GI pirates. This and other examples demonstrated that the positions taken by delegations were not based on theory but rather on practical examples with commercial implications.
102. With regard to the comment made by the EC delegation that the joint proposal system did not require the mention of the date of protection, she noted that the TRIPS obligations applied to Members only as from certain dates, for example 1 January 1996 for developed countries, and wondered what would happen, under the EC proposal, with those EC geographical indications registered many years before that date.
