The aim of this paper is: (a) to emphasize the importance of the industrial property rights for countries in transition economy, (b) to analyze the international trade and competitiveness of Republic of Macedonia and EU countries and (c) to present geographical indications as a powerful marketing strategy for competitiveness of the wine sub-sector in Republic of Macedonia. The paper includes qualitative and quantitative approach. Regarding the qualitative approach, we have performed a descriptive analysis to make a relation between industrial property, marketing and competitiveness of wine sub-sector. Quantitative methods include comparative analyzes with three countries of the European Union (Bulgaria, Slovenia and France). In order to present the current competitiveness, several calculations were preformed such as: the international trade indicators for trade balance and coverage ratio, trade openness, trade performance and specialization of countries’ wine sector, issued by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The results show that in the Macedonian agricultural sector, there is a low degree of awareness for the economic benefits of industrial property rights. Macedonia has a competitive wine sector, as result of the factor conditions, and in particularly tradition, geographic and climate conditions. Significant result is the positive degree of specialization of Macedonian wine in exporting the product, but unfortunately the bulk wine has the largest share in export of 87%. The process of reaching higher competitiveness of agro-food products, supported by strong marketing strategy, should be considered as a risky process, if the legal protection of industrial property rights, is neglected. The consequences could lead to misappropriation and information asymmetry, which can influence on losing the market position of the producers or unsuccessful promotion and export orientation of the products.