17. The representative of Japan said that, as one of the co-sponsors of the proposal contained in TN/IP/W/5, his delegation's position on the multilateral notification and registration system was clear: it should be a less burdensome and legally non-binding system. The position of his delegation with respect to the participation was also equally clear: it should be voluntary. With respect to the issue of translation, he said that according to Article 23, GIs for wines and spirits should be protected, even where the GIs were used in translation. He was concerned that under the legally binding system, as proposed by the demandeurs, the requirement to notify GIs in the three WTO working languages, English, French and Spanish, would not be sufficient for giving the legal effect to such GIs in Japan. The reason was that the notified GI would itself be the subject-matter to be registered and protected in every Member of the WTO. In other words, it was necessary for the relevant authorities to make available to the Japanese nationals the official notification in Japanese, in addition to the three WTO languages, in order to secure additional protection. He wondered whether under the legally binding system such a situation might take place in a Member whose first working language or official language was not one of the WTO working languages. Even under the non-legally binding system, translation into Japanese or a notifying Member's own language might be required in order to "facilitate" the protection of GIs for wines and spirits. For his delegation, the meaning and the burden of translating GIs under the two systems were different. Under the legally binding system, GIs notified were themselves the subject-matter to be registered and protected in all WTO Members, while under the non-legally binding system the GIs notified were not the subject-matter to be protected but were information which could be used as reference. The burden of translation would therefore be much heavier for almost every WTO Member with the establishment of a legally binding system which would involve all WTO Members as participants.
