| Geographical Indications (GIs) is originated from indication of source and appellations of origin, which has been widely used on agricultural products, traditional industrial products, handcraft products and many other areas. Since the Agreement On Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) comprise GIs as independent intellectual property rights type for the first time, legal protection of GIs became an international central issue among many researchers. China is vastly rich in GIs resources, the study of legal protection of GIs means a lot to producers, retailers , consumers, even the whole county, it not only boost the economy in rural area, but also assistant various of quality products in China to extend their markets to the world, and enhance the advantages in competition. But, currently China is lack of theoretical studies on GIs, and incomplete of legislation. Therefore, the study of legal protection of GIs significantly matters.This article starts with what is GIs, presents the methods of legislation in different countries and reviews the current state of international treaty, and then according to the successful experiences, the article gives suggestions to both legislation and practice of legal protection of GIs in China. There are five sections here.Section one introduces basic theories, begins with two concepts related to GIs to define GIs ,followed by the properties of GIs, and then get deep to analyze the legal attribute of GIs and explain the social value of legal protection of GIs.Section two presents four different modes of legal protection of GIs, they are especial legislation mode, trademark law mode, unfair competition law mode, and administrative law mode. Every protection system being occupied has its advantage and is closely related to the benefit of its own country, which reflects different profit interest points in different countries.Section three reviews the international history of GIs protection. From"Paris Convention"to TRIPs, every set of treaties about GIs has its positive side. In this article do comment while present each of these treaties. This part is emphasis on the protection of GIs under TRIPs. Not only all WTO members should obey it, but also it's the most complete international treaty on the protection of GIs.Section four shows the disputes on the protection of GIs among the tow camps for the historic reasons. These disputes will affect the direction of advancing the protection of GIs system, so EU and the USA won't compromise on several issues such as making multilateral registration on GIs, and increase the ranges of protection.Section five describes and argues the problems of legal protection of GIs faced in China. First, introduce the double-track system used in China. Then, analyze the problems on trademark law system and especial legislation system; reveal the contradictions of these two systems. At last, give suggestions on how to perfect the legal protection system of GIs.
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