1994年签署的《与贸易有关的知识产权协定》(下称TRIPS协定)第二十二条明确提出地理标志概念,即地理标志是表明某商品原产于某成员境内或其境内某个地区或地点,该商品的特定质量、声誉或其他特征主要取决于其地理原产地的标志。自此,地理标志作为TRIPS协定的保护对象,同专利、版权、商标、工业设计、集成电路等并列为世界七大知识产权领域之一。 Article 22 of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (hereinafter TRIPS Agreement) signed in 1994 clearly stipulates the concept of geographical indication as a way of indicating that a commodity is native to or within a member’s territory or Location, the particular quality, reputation, or other characteristics of the good depends primarily on the mark of its geographical origin. Since then, as a protected object of the TRIPS Agreement, GIs have been listed as one of the seven major areas of intellectual property in the world with patents, copyrights, trademarks, industrial designs and integrated circuits.