GEOGRAPHICAL
INDICATIONS
1
Dr.Gurumeet C wadhawa

GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS-
DEFINITION
•It is an indication.
•It originates from a definite geographical territory.
•it is used to identify goods having special characteristics
originating from a definite geographical territory
•It is used to identify agricultural, natural or manufactured
goods.
•The manufactured goods should be produced or processed
or prepared in that territory.
•It should have a special quality or reputation or other
characteristics. 2

BENEFITS OF GIs
•It confers legal protection.
•Prevents unauthorized use of a
Registered Geographical Indication by
others.
produced in
•It promotes economic prosperity of
a
producers of goods
geographical territory.
•Boosts the export. 3

•Can serve as source-identifiers for consumers.
Helps the pr•
o.ducers develop consumer loyalty.
•Plays a role in consumer decisions, including
willingness to pay a higher price for regionally
branded food products.
•For example, geographic location is an
important component of wine pricing.
Contd….
4

EXAMPLES OF GIs
INDIA
•Basmati rice
•Mysore silk
•Mysore sandalwood oil
•Mysore sandal soap
•Mysore jasmine
•Coorg orange
•Madhubani paintings
•Darjeeling tea
•Dharwad pedha
•Alphonso mango
•Tirupathi laddu
•Kolhapuri chappal
•Nanjangud banana
WORLD
•Canadian whisky
•Swiss watches
•Florida oranges
•Champagne
•Tequilla.
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Who can apply for the registration of a
geographical indication?
• Any association of persons, producers,
organization or authority established by or under the
law can apply
• The applicant must represent the interest of the
producers
• The applicant should be in writing in the prescribed
form
• The applicant should be addressed to the Registrar of
Geographical Indications along with prescribed fee
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IMPACT OF GIs ON DEVELOPING
COUNTRIES
•Encourages rural development.
•Facilitates market access.
•Saves local natural resources .
•Plays an important role in the
preservation of cultural identity.
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MYSORE ROSEWOOD INLAY

Is the registration of a Geographic Indication
compulsory and how does it help the
applicant
• Registration is not compulsory
• Registration affords better legal protection to
facilitate an action for infringement
• The registered proprietor and authorized users
can initiate infringement actions.
• The authorized
exclusive right
Indication
user
to use
can exercise the
the Geographical
•The registration of a geographical indication is
valid for a period of 10 years and renewed from time
to time
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Why GI is to be protected ?
•Denote quality and origin of products
•Good reputation for the product
•Preventing the product from generic products
•Protecting the domestic market from competitors
CHANNAPATNATOYS 9
MYSORE JASMINE

How are GIs protected?
•In accordance with international treaties and national laws
under a wide range of concepts:
•special laws for the protection of geographical
indications or appellations of origin
•trademark laws in the form of collective marks or
certification marks
•laws against unfair competition
•consumer protection laws, or
•specific laws or decrees that recognize individual
geographical indications.
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GI in India
•India, as a member of the World Trade
Organization(WTO), enacted the Geographical Indications
of Goods (Registration and Protection)Act, 1999 has
come into force with effect from 15 September 2003
•The Central Government of India has established the Ge
ographical Indications Registry with all India
jurisdiction in chennai
•The GI Act is being administered by the Controller Gen
eral of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks ‐ who is
the Registrar of Geographical Indications
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CONDITIONS TO GET GI TAG
•It relates to a goods, although in some countries,
services are also included;
•These goods/services must originate from a defined
area;
•The goods/services must have qualities, reputations or
other characteristics which are clearly linked to the
geographical origin of goods
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NECESSITYOF GI
•Geographical indications allows producers to
obtain market recognition and often a premium
price
•Geographical indications have become a key
source of niche marketing
•Geographical indications are also often
associated with non-monetary benefits such as
the protection of knowledge and community
rights.
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organization
•One of the 17 specialized
agencies of the United
Nations created in 1967
•Currently has 185 member
states and is headquartered
in Geneva, Switzerland
• To promote the protection of
intellectual property throughout
the world. 14

Agreement on Trade-Related
Aspects of Intellectual Property
Rights (1994)
• Two basic obligations on WTO
member governments relating to
GIs in the TRIPS agreement
• Article 22: Prevent misleading
the public as to the geographical
origin of the good.
• Article 23: prevent the use of a
geographical indication
identifying wines not originating
in the place. 15

Challenges
•Low brand value
•Lack of awareness of rules &
regulations.
•rampant misuse of Indian GI
•Immigration of labors.
16

Why are geographical
indications valuable?
•GIs are a marketing tool
•Reputation for quality associated with place name used
on labels, advertising
•GI-identified products are believed to command higher
prices
•Of particular interest to developing countries
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Controversie
s
•Consumer vs. producer interests
•Long-time, generic use of expressions
geographic origins (parmesan)
that have
•Differing national treatment of Gis
-weaker: (Canada, US) “Canadian Champagne;”
“American-made Pecorino cheese”
-stronger: (EU) GI use reserved to producers in the
region, even if other origin is indicated
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Geographical indications and
trademarks
• GIs are closely related to
trademarks; both indicate product
origin
• GIs and trademarks differ in two ways:
to a particular
1. A trademark belongs
company; it distinguishes that
company’s products. GIs are shared by
all producers in the region identified by
the GI.
2. Gis are attached to a location;but
trademarks don’t
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ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL BENEFITS OF GI
• Higher retail price and better distribution of
economic returns for primary producers
• Capitalize on consumers’ desire for authentic,
quality products - 1999 consumer survey -40%
of EU consumers ready to pay premium price
for origin-guaranteed products
• Production of growth: increase production
output and land value
• Legal protection creates opportunities for
investment in a product and region
• Rural development and sustainability: provide
the right owners with the opportunity to get
economic benefits from their geographical
indication and with the right to exclude
non-entitled users
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Process
STEP 1 : Filing of application
first check whether the indication
comes within the ambit of the definition of
a Gl under section 2(1)(e).
The association of persons or producers
or any organization or authority should
represent the interest of producers of the
concerned goods and should file an
affidavit how the applicant claims to
represent their interest.
Application must be made in triplicate.
•The application shall be signed by the
applicant or his agent and must be
accompanied by a statement of case.
Details of the special characteristics and
how those standards are maintained.
STEP2 and 3: Preliminary scrutiny and 21
examination

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.
The applicant should within one month of
the communication in this regard, remedy
the same
STEP4: Show cause notice
If the Registrar has any objection to the
application, he will communicate such
objection.
The applicant must respond within two
months or apply for a hearing.
STEP 5: Publication in the
geographical indications Journal
Every application, within three moths of
acceptance shall be published in the
Geographical Indications Journal.

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opposing the GI application
published in the Journal.
• The registrar shall serve a copy of the notice on the
applicant.
• STEP 7: Registration
• Where an application for a GI has been accepted, the
registrar shall register the geographical indication. If
registered the date of filing of the application shall be
deemed to be the date of registration.
• The registrar shall issue to the applicant a certificate with
• the seal of the Geographical indications registry.
STEP8: Renewal
Aregistered GI shall be valid for 10 years
and can be renewed on payment of
renewal fee.

A case Study of the Basmati Rice
(India-US Basmati Rice Dispute): The Geographical Indication
Perspective.
•In the late 1997, when an American company RiceTec Inc
was granted a patent by the US patent office to call the
aromatic rice grown outside India "Basmati", India objected
to it
As India has been one of the major exporters of
Basmati to several countries and such a grant by the US
patent office was likely to affect its trade.
Since Basmati rice is traditionally grown in India and Pakistan, it was
opined that granting patent to RiceTec violated the Geographical
IndicationsAct under the TRIPS agreement.
Eventually, a request for re-examination of this patent was filed
on April 28, 2000. Soon after filling the re-examination request,
Rice Tec chose to withdraw its claims.
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Biopiracy Case Study 2: turmeric
In March 1995, two expatriate Indians at the
University of Mississippi Medical Centre were
granted a US patent for turmeric to be used to heal
wounds
The Indian Council for Scientific and
Industrial Research (CSIR) filed a case with the
US Patent Office challenging the patent on the
grounds of "prior art" i.e already existing
public knowledge.
CSIR argued that turmeric has been used for
thousands of years for healing wounds and
rashes and therefore its medicinal use was not a
novel invention.
The claim had to be backed by written
documentation claiming traditional wisdom
or knowledge.
•The turmeric case was a landmark judgment
case as it was for the first time that a patent
based on the traditional knowledge of a
developing country was successfully
challenged.
The CSIR went so far as to present an ancient
Sanskrit text and a paper published in 1953 in
the Journal of the Indian MedicalAssociation.
•Th.e US Patent Office upheld the objection and
cancelled the patent
•It also cancelled several other patent
applications pending for turmeric.