The National Intellectual Property Center of Georgia (Sakpatenti) recently announced on its website that the Georgian Parliament approved the ratification of the Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement on Appellations of Origin and Geographical Indications on March 18, 2025. Georgia is expected to deposit its instrument of accession to the Geneva Act with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in the near future.

The accession will allow Georgian applicants to protect their regional brands abroad as appellations of origin or geographical indications through a single application and upon payment of one set of fees. The scope of protection will be extended to cover 23 contracting states and two intergovernmental organizations that are parties to the Geneva Act – the European Union and the African Intellectual Property Organization.

The accession to the Geneva Act was preceded by a reform that Sakpatenti implemented with the support of the European Union, within the Twinning Project “Establishing Efficient Protection and Control System of Geographical Indications (GIs) in Georgia” aimed at the harmonization of local regulations with the Geneva Act.

At present, 39 appellations of origin and 31 geographical indications are registered in Georgia.