The protection of Geographical Indications ("Gis") has been a subject of immense_x000D_ controversy. The provisions in the Agreement on the Trade Related aspects of Intellectual_x000D_ Property Rights ("TRIPS") dealing with Gis, which were negotiated during the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations that gave birth to the World Trade Organization ("WTO"), represent a sensitive compromise - a compromise between WTO member states that believe in different standards of protection and different means by which such protection may be granted. Despite the compromise, the debate on the protection of Gis continues to not only expand the existing North-South divide, but also create new divisions within the developed world. It is also notable that the topic has acquired a renewed interest and flavour. While we are seeing Gis being hotly debated within the WTO framework in its Doha Round of trade negotiations, the World Intellectual Property Organization ("WIPO") has recently extended the protection afforded to appellations of origin under the Lisbon Agreement for the Protection of Appellations of Origin and their International Registration, 31 October 1958, 923 UNTS 205 (entered in force 25 September 1966) [Lisbon Agreement] to Gis with important modifications that truly seeks to establish an 'international register' for Gis. Furthermore, we are also witnessing a trend_x000D_ in provisions on Gis being included in bilateral and plurilateral trade agreements between major economies such as the United States of America ("USA") and the European Union ("EU") on the one hand and developing nations on the other, which has the indirect effect of establishing the internationally dominant approach for the protection of Gis.