94. The representative of the European Communities recalled that his delegation had never specified how many geographical indications it was likely to notify but had suggested that it would notify a number which could be easily absorbed by the system. His delegation had an interest in having a system that actually worked. However, it should be recalled that, today if Hungary notified 1,000 notifications to the Australian register for geographical indications for wines and spirits, the Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation would have to examine them under the time-limits of the Australian Wine Incorporation Act of 1980, which would probably be around 12 months. If the United States made one million notifications for trademarks to the European Union Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market, that office would have to examine them within eight months under the EU law. This showed that the current level of protection that Members were obligated to give under the TRIPS Agreement remained unchanged.
