84. The representative of Argentina congratulated the Chairman on his election. She recalled that Argentina did not support the artificial parallelism between the three TRIPS issues as set out in the modalities proposal of TN/C/W/52, for the mandate was limited to negotiations on the establishment of a multilateral system of notification and registration of geographical indications for wines and spirits.
85. Her delegation supported the joint proposal, which complied with the mandate under Article 23.4 of the TRIPS Agreement and paragraph 18 of the Doha Declaration and enjoyed a high degree of acceptance among the Members. It provided for the establishment of a multilateral system of notification and registration of GIs for wines and spirits, which facilitated the protection of these GIs while preserving the territoriality of intellectual property rights. In keeping with the mandate, participation in the register would be voluntary. She recalled that Argentina was also co sponsor of the room document that had been presented by New Zealand in response to the questions by Ambassador Trevor Clarke. With regard to legal effects, she said that the prima facie evidence, the extraterritoriality, and the reversal of the burden of proof provided for in TN/C/W/52 were not acceptable for Argentina.
