AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA AND GEORGIA ON THE MUTUAL RECOGNITION AND PROTECTION OF GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS.

This Agreement applies to the mutual recognition and protection of geographical indications of goods originating in the territories of the Contracting Parties. The Agreement shall enter into force on the date of receipt of the last written notification through diplomatic channels on the fulfilment by both Contracting Parties of internal procedures necessary for its entry into force. A Contracting Party shall not be required to protect as a geographical indication a name that conflicts with the name of a plant variety or an animal breed and as a result is likely to mislead the consumer as to the true origin of the product. The geographical indications listed in Annexes III and IV to this Agreement, as well as those added pursuant to Article 3 ( l ) of this Agreement, shall be protected against: (a) any direct or indirect commercial use of a protected name: (i) for comparable products not compliant with the product specification of the protected name, or (ii) in so far as such use exploits the reputation of a geographical indication; (b) any misuse, imitation or evocation, even if the true origin of the product is indicated or if the protected name is translated, transcribed, transliterated or accompanied by an expression such as "style", "type", "method", "as produced in", "imitation", "flavor", "like" or similar; (c) any other false or misleading indication as to the provenance, origin, nature or essential qualities of the product, on the inner or outer packaging, advertising material or documents relating to the product concerned, and the packing of the product in a container liable to convey a false impression as to its origin; and (d) any other practice liable to mislead the consumer as to the true origin of the product. A homonymous name which misleads the consumer into believing that products come from another territory shall not be registered even if the name is accurate as far as the actual territory, region or place of origin of the product in question is concerned. Geographical indications protected under this Agreement in the Georgian and Latin alphabets shall be protected in the territories of the Contracting Parties together with their transcriptions. This transcription may also be used for labeling purposes for the products concerned. A name protected under this Agreement may be used by any operator marketing, processing or preparing products which conform to the corresponding product specification.