The European Union joined as the key fifth member of Geneva Act, which thus enters into force end of February 2020.

WIPO's Lisbon System facilitates the international protection of appellations of origin through one single registration procedure. By means of this procedure, the holder of a national or regional appellation of origin or geographical indication may obtain the protection of the distinctive sign in the other contracting parties of the Lisbon System.

The Lisbon Agreement for the Protection of Appellations of Origin and their International Registration was signed on 31 October 1958. The Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement was adopted by the Diplomatic Conference for the Adoption of a New Act of the Lisbon Agreement for the Protection of Appellations of Origin and their International Registration, which took place in Geneva, Switzerland, from 11 to 21 May 2015. The Act modernised the 1958 Agreement, extended its scope from AOs to all GIs, and allowed international organisations to join.