A study of legal protection of Geographical Indications in the European Community and in Vietnam

Abstract: This thesis addresses the legal protection of geographical indications (GIs) at three levels: the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the European Community (EC) and Vietnam, with the main focus on protection of GIs in the EC. The 1st part contains some general remarks concerning the rationale, purpose, delimitation, and methodology of this thesis. The 2nd part introduces some backgrounds on GIs such as their definition and the rationale of their protection and a review of the international legal system on the protection of GIs. The protection of GIs at international level is addressed in the 3rd part through analysis of the provisions of the Agreement on Trade related Aspect of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) - one of the main pillars of the WTO. This part also deals with the question of how a dispute between WTO Member States is solved before the WTO and the WTO Member States' obligation to comply with TRIPs provisions. Part 4 and 5 concern the protection of GIs in the EC and in Vietnam. Legislation, case law and practice in the EC and in Vietnam are analysed in order to provide an exhaustive picture of the protection of GIs at regional and national level. Part 6 is a general summary of the previous parts.