Council Decision (EU) 2025/1415 of 8 July 2025 on the position to be taken on behalf of the Union within the Assembly of the Special Union established by the Lisbon Agreement for the Protection of Appellations of Origin and their International Registration with regard to the proposed amendments to the Common Regulations under the Lisbon Agreement and the Geneva Act of that Agreement

Official Journal EN of the European Union L series 2025/1415 15.7.2025 COUNCIL DECISION (EU) 2025/1415 of 8 July 2025 on the position to be taken on behalf of the Union within the Assembly of the Special Union established by the Lisbon Agreement for the Protection of Appellations of Origin and their International Registration with regard to the proposed amendments to the Common Regulations under the Lisbon Agreement and the Geneva Act of that Agreement THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 207, in conjunction with Article 218(9) thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,

Whereas:

(1) The Union is a Contracting Party to the Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement on Appellations of Origin and Geographical Indications (the ‘Geneva Act’)(1), which entered into force on 26 February 2020. Pursuant to Article 21 of the Geneva Act, its Contracting Parties are members of the Assembly of the Special Union established by the Lisbon Agreement for the Protection of Appellations of Origin and their International Registration (the ‘Lisbon Agreement’).

(2) Pursuant to Article 22(2)(a)(iii) of the Geneva Act, the Assembly of the Special Union is empowered to amend the Regulations under the Geneva Act.

(3) During the sixty-sixth Series of Meetings of the Assemblies of the Member States of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to be held from 8 to 17 July 2025, the Assembly of the Special Union will be invited to adopt amendments to the Common Regulations under the Lisbon Agreement and the Geneva Act (the ‘Common Regulations’).

(4) It is appropriate to establish the position to be taken on the Union’s behalf within the Assembly of the Special Union as those amendments will be binding on the Union.

(5) In its sixth session, which took place in Geneva from 17 to 20 March 2025, the Working Group on the Development of the Lisbon System (the ‘Lisbon Working Group’) recommended to the Assembly of the Special Union the adoption of various amendments to the Common Regulations, as proposed by the WIPO Secretariat and modified by the Lisbon Working Group. The Lisbon System is the international system for the international registration of appellations of origin and geographical indications.

(6) The proposed amendment to Rule 1(1) of the Common Regulations updates the definition of ‘official form’ in subparagraph (vi) thereof to include a reference to the electronic interface (e-Lisbon), which has been made available by the International Bureau of WIPO to competent authorities of the Lisbon System on WIPO’s website.

(7) The proposed amendments to Rule 8(9) of the Common Regulations update the current version of that provision by clarifying the relevant date for determining the amount of fees to be paid under Rules 5(2)(c), 15(2)(a), 7(4)(a) and 7

(4)(d) of the Common Regulations as well as in all other cases under the current version of Rule 8(9), respectively, taking into account the different specificities under the Common Regulations.

(8) The proposed amendments to Rule 15(1) of the Common Regulations introduce new subparagraphs (vii) to (ix) to extend the list of modifications that can be recorded in the WIPO International Register. The proposed new paragraph (5) of Rule 15 of the Common Regulations introduces the possibility for a Contracting Party to notify a refusal if it is not in a position to ensure the protection of an appellation of origin or geographical indication because of such a modification.

(1) OJ L 271, 24.10.2019, p. 15, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/agree_internation/2019/1754/oj.

ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec/2025/1415/oj 1/4EN OJ L, 15.7.2025

(9) The proposed amendment to Rule 18(4) of the Common Regulations aligns the wording of that provision with the proposed new paragraph (5) of Rule 15 of the Common Regulations.

(10) The Union should support the adoption of those amendments,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1 The position to be taken on the Union’s behalf within the Assembly of the Special Union, established by the Lisbon Agreement for the Protection of Appellations of Origin and their International Registration, to be held in the framework of the Assemblies of the Member States of the World Intellectual Property Organization on 8 to 17 July 2025, shall be to support the adoption of the amendments to the Common Regulations under the Lisbon Agreement and the Geneva Act of that Agremeent as set out in the Annex to this Decision.

The representatives of the Union may also agree to modifications to the proposed amendments, provided that they do not significantly alter their substance.

Article 2 This Decision shall enter into force on the date of its adoption.

Done at Brussels, 8 July 2025.

For the Council The President S. LOSE 2/4 ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec/2025/1415/ojEN OJ L, 15.7.2025 ANNEX PROPOSED AMENDMENTS to the Common Regulations under the Lisbon Agreement for the Protection of Appellations of Origin and Their International Registration and the Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement on Appellations of Origin and Geographical Indications as recommended by the WIPO Working Group for the Development of the Lisbon System for adoption by the Lisbon Union in the framework of the WIPO General Assemblies 2025:

1) In the heading, ‘as in force on July 14, 2023’ is replaced by ‘as in force on July 1, 2026’.

2) In Rule 1 (1) (Abbreviated Expressions), subparagraph (vi) is replaced by the following: ‘“Official Form” means a form drawn up by the International Bureau or an electronic interface made available by the International Bureau on the website of the Organization;’

3) Rule 8 (9) (Change in the Amount of the Fees) is replaced by the following: ‘(a) Where the amount of the fees payable in respect of an application referred to in Rule 5(2)(c) is changed between the date of filing the application and the date of payment, the fee that was valid on the first date shall be applicable.

(b) Where the amount of the fees payable in respect of a request for entry of a modification referred to in Rule 15(2)(a) is changed between the date on which the request was presented and the date of payment, the fee that was valid on the first date shall be applicable.

(c) Where the amount of the fees to be paid in relation to a modification or as an individual fee, in the case referred to in

Rule 7(4)(a) and (d), is changed between the date of entry into force of the Geneva Act with respect to a State that is party to the 1967 Act and the date of payment, the fee that was valid on the first date shall be applicable.

(d) Where the amount of any fee other than the fees referred to in subparagraphs (a), (b) and (c) is changed, the amount valid on the date on which the fee was received by the International Bureau shall be applicable.’

4) In Rule 15, paragraph (1) (Permissible Modifications), the following points are added: ‘(vii) a modification relating to the appellation of origin or the geographical indication;

(viii) a modification relating to the good or goods to which the appellation of origin or the geographical indication applies;

(ix) a modification relating to the particulars as referred to in Rule 5(3)(a) or the information referred to in Rule 5(6)(a)

(vi).’

5) In Rule 15, the following new paragraph (5) (Application of Rules 9 to 12) is added: ‘(5) (a) Where the modification concerns the appellation of origin or the geographical indication, or the good or goods to which the appellation of origin or the geographical indication applies, the Competent Authority of a Contracting Party has the right to declare that it cannot ensure the protection of the appellation of origin or geographical indication because of the modification. The declaration shall be addressed to the International Bureau by such Competent Authority within a period of one year from the date of receipt of the notification by the International Bureau of the modification. Rules 9 to 12 shall apply mutatis mutandis.

(b) Where the modification concerns the particulars as referred to in Rule 5(3)(a), the Competent Authority of a Contracting Party that has made the notification under Rule 5(3), has the right to declare that it cannot ensure the protection of the appellation of origin or geographical indication because of the modification. The declaration shall be addressed to the International Bureau by such Competent Authority within a period of one year from the date of receipt of the notification by the International Bureau of the modification. Rules 9 to 12 shall apply mutatis mutandis.’

ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec/2025/1415/oj 3/4EN OJ L, 15.7.2025

6) Rule 18 (4) (Application of Rules 9 to 12) is replaced by the following: ‘Where the correction of an error concerns the appellation of origin or the geographical indication, or the good or goods to which the appellation of origin or the geographical indication applies, the Competent Authority of a Contracting Party has the right to declare that it cannot ensure the protection of the appellation of origin or geographical indication because of the correction. The declaration shall be addressed to the International Bureau by such Competent Authority within a period of one year from the date of receipt of the notification by the International Bureau of the correction. Rules 9 to 12 shall apply mutatis mutandis.’ 4/4 ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec/2025/1415/oj