130. The representative of the United States said that the term "balance" was often raised in the Council, particularly with respect to geographical indications. He was struck by the EC's assessment of the appropriate balance in that context. With respect to the issue of participation, the EC's idea of balance was that, for those Members participating in the system, there were rights and obligations but for those Members who chose not to participate in the system, they had no rights but only obligations. Participation under the joint proposal, on the other hand, did provide balance. It reflected the voluntary nature of the system as enshrined in Article 23.4. For those who chose to participate in the system, there were rights and obligations and for those who did not, there were none. The EC proposal seemed to question the value of the registration foreseen under the US proposal. He wondered what the value was of the EC's proposal in terms of their domestic law. If a US place-name for a wine or a spirit was registered and went unopposed in the multilateral system proposed by the EC, would it automatically get protection under European regulations?
