Geographical Indication

FTA / RoO

A sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation due to that origin.

Sources

1. World Intellectual Property Organization — Geographical indications wipo.int accessed 17 September 2026

WIPO’s definition is the one most national laws track: “A geographical indication (GI) is a sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin.” Two elements have to hold together — a place, and a quality or reputation attributable to that place. A product merely made somewhere does not qualify. WIPO also distinguishes the narrower term appellation of origin, which has its own definition in the Lisbon Agreement, from the broader geographical indication defined in TRIPS and in the Geneva Act — related concepts with separate legal meanings, which is worth knowing before treating the words as interchangeable.

Related terms

• Absorption Principle
• Bilateral Cumulation
• Certificate of Origin
• Change in Tariff Classification
• Cumulation
• Diagonal Cumulation

From the AJG lexicon archive (July 2026).