81. The representative of the United States said that, in the perspective of his delegation, the purpose of the exercise regarding the multilateral system for notification and registration under Article 23.4 was to facilitate protection. Any system that might be developed should meet several criteria: it should not establish any new obligations or diminish the rights and obligations contained in Section 3 of Part II of the TRIPS Agreement; any system for notification and registration should accommodate the various systems for protection of geographical indications existing in all WTO Members' legal regimes; and such a system should not impose burdens on the WTO Secretariat. Likewise, participation in the system by Members should be voluntary and not be burdensome. His delegation believed that any system of notification or registration should involve the voluntary submission of information to the Secretariat and that such information should be made available for Members' use. The information contained in the responses to the Article 24.2 Checklist would of course help Members to ensure that any system that might be established would not require Members to alter their current legislation and practice. In order to participate in the system or use the information, it was his delegation's intention to review the responses to the Article 24.2 Checklist, and the information contained in those responses, to develop its own proposal, which it hoped to introduce at the Council's meeting in February 1999. The proposal would be consistent with the criteria mentioned and in keeping with the purpose stated in Article 23.4.
