The dairy industry applauded leaders of the Senate and House Judiciary committees, the Senate Finance Committee, and the House Ways and Means Committee for expressing their “grave disappointment” over recently approved changes to the Lisbon Agreement for the Protection of Appellations of Origin which now allows for the registration of geographical indications—which the groups say will likely to severely limit the use of many generic food names in export markets.

In a letter to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), eight congressional leaders objected to an expansion of geographical indications protections that “will have significant negative ramifications for businesses world-wide that depend on the use of common or generic names or the integrity of established trademarks.” They also objected to a WIPO decision to force those harmed by the changes to help fund them.