50. The representative of Japan expressed the hope that the negotiations in the Special Session would be further enhanced towards significant convergence. To that end, Japan believed that more pragmatic and practical discussion was needed. Recalling that his delegation had already set out how the joint proposal could be domestically implemented, he would further elaborate by responding to the Chair's sub-questions. With regard to the first sub-question on what sources of information the national authority consulted he said that in the examination of trademark applications, the examiner consulted the database, including the list of appellations of origin for wines and spirits registered internationally under the Lisbon Agreement for the Protection of Appellations of Origin and their International Registration. When an examiner found that a trademark application failed to satisfy at least one of the requirements for the registration of a trademark, the application would be rejected. In the course of the examination, the national authority was not legally obliged to consult any specific source of information. As for GI protection, the national authority also consulted relevant information relating to GI registers in foreign countries.
