Geographical Indication and India
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Geographical indication
Mamtha Asokan, Aparna Desikan and D Vincent Arockiaraj, July 24, 2020: The Times of India
Geographical indication (GI) tag is a sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin. In order to function as a GI, a sign must identify a product as originating in a given place. In addition, the qualities, characteristics or reputation of the product should be essentially due to the place of origin. Since the qualities depend on the geographical place of production, there is a clear link between the product and its original place of production.
Business
As in Jan 2020
From: Mamtha Asokan, Aparna Desikan and D Vincent Arockiaraj, July 24, 2020: The Times of India
From: Mamtha Asokan, Aparna Desikan and D Vincent Arockiaraj, July 24, 2020: The Times of India
The main period of business, the marriage season begins from Sankranti (January 15) and lasts till the beginning of Aadi (July 15).
The wedding budget of garments [till Dec 2019 was] ₹1 lakh per family. “People [would] buy the wedding sari for the bride, ‘samandhi’ (gifted to the in-laws) saris and veshti/dhoti for the groom. The traditional practice of gifting saris for weddings [was] there.,” says Chetty.
With rising gold and silver prices, silk sari manufacturers are now adopting new strategies such as reducing the size of the sari border from four inches to two or 1.5 inches. Others like Prakash Sah, owner of Kancheepuram-based Prakash Silks, keeps employees busy by making synthetic zari instead of silver. “One needs to sell silverbased zari within 2-3 months of making the saree. That seems impossible at this point and we are changing our strategy,” he says.
One needs to sell silver-based zari within 2-3 months of making the saree.
The shelf-life of a silk sari is five years, and needs to be refolded every week for better longevity. The rate of pure silk stands at ₹4,000/kg and is sourced from Bengaluru and this rate could go up if silk import from China gets banned
Prasad Pannerselvam of P S Silk Sarees, employs 169 weavers
Handloom weaver K Krishnamurthy of Kancheepuram said a weaver gets wages between Rs 15,000 and Rs 25,000 depending on the orders every month.
On an average, weavers make more than one lakh handloom silk sarees every year. These are bought by tourists and marriage shoppers who throng Kancheepuram.
The silk saris created by the weavers in the temple town of Thirubuvanam near Kumbakonam in Thanjavur district are famous for the rich zari work and fine silk.
In March 2019, the unique weaving technique of the region that uses filature silk for warp and weft that results in superior quality fabric, got the GI tag. Adorned with pure zari work, the ‘pallu’ of the sari is continuously woven on the loom and runs on from the body, unlike other saris where the body and ‘pallu’ are woven separately.
But before the GI recognition could guarantee it the prized status, the economy [was] hit.
N D Nagendran, district president of AITUC for weavers’ wing said, “Every year the society does business to the tune of ₹40 crore.
The weaving tradition is tied to the Sourashtra community, who were known for their handloom saris and had settled down in Thirubuvanam during the period of Nayaks and Marathas. More than 1,500 families are engaged in making the handloom sari, for ₹3,000 to ₹6,000 per piece, under the Thirubuvanam Silk Handloom Weavers
Cooperative society that distributes raw material to the weavers. [Before Covid], raw material to make up to 50 saris per month used to be distributed
As gold-coated silver zari is used for weaving, the skyrocketing of gold rates is further adding to production woes.
Enforceability of GI tags
Rupali Mukherjee, ’GI tag not extendable to unrelated biz’, February 6, 2019: The Times of India
From: Rupali Mukherjee, ’GI tag not extendable to unrelated biz’, February 6, 2019: The Times of India
While corporate battles protecting patents and trademarks are fairly common, the right to enforce a geographical indication (GI) tag has had a new twist. The Calcutta high court has ruled that Darjeeling Tea as a GI — owned by the government-run Tea Board — for tea originating from the region cannot be claimed for unrelated goods or services.
The order came on a case filed by the Tea Board against hotels-to-tobacco conglomerate ITC in 2010 for operating a premier lounge — ‘Darjeeling Lounge’ — at its ITC Sonar Hotel in Kolkata. The plea was dismissed as the court ruled that the GI held by Tea Board is restricted to only goods (tea), and not to services such as lounges.
Simply put, GI are names, geographical or figurative representation conveying or suggesting the ‘geographical’ origin of the products. The HC order is one of the first interpreting rights available to a GI holder, which legal experts say will help in defining the ambit of protection provided by GI law in India.
GIs registered in India include Darjeeling Tea, Mysore Sandal Soap, Alphonso mango and Surat Zari Craft. The Tea Board was attempting to monopolise the name Darjeeling for itself for all goods and services, even though they have a registration for only tea. Such claim has been denied by court, said Kironjit B Majumder from S Majumdar & Co, the law firm representing ITC.
The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act was enacted in India in September 2003, and soon thereafter the Tea Board filed and obtained registration for the GI ‘Darjeeling’. It then filed opposition to the registration of ITC’s application for registration of the trade mark Darjeeling Lounge, citing infringement of GI and Certification Trade Marks. Thereafter, it filed a suit in 2010, seeking interim injunctions against ITC to restrain the company for using Darjeeling Lounge.
In its suit, Tea Board said ‘Darjeeling’ is associated exclusively with ‘Darjeeling Tea’, and use of ‘Darjeeling’ in respect of lounge services is detrimental to the distinctive character of its GI. Also, use of ‘Darjeeling Lounge’ is an act of unfair competition, and has the effect of causing confusion among guests visiting the lounge, and guests would believe that there is some association of Darjeeling Lounge with Darjeeling Tea, or the Tea Board.
Indian products awarded the Geographical Indication (GI) tag
Till 2021
[An illustrative list]
Alphonso Mango of Maharashtra
Aranmula Kannadi (metal mirror)
Assam Tea
Banarasi Sarees and Brocades
Basmati Rice
Blue Pottery of Jaipur
Chikankari of Lucknow
Coimbatore Wet Grinder
Coorg Arabica Coffee
Darjeeling Tea
Dharmavaram Handloom Pattu Sarees and Paavadas
Dharwad Pedha
Gir Kesar Mango
Indian products that have been awarded the Geographical Indication (GI) tag till 2021:
Kanchipuram Silk Sarees
Kashmir Pashmina
Kasuti Embroidery
Kolar Leaf Plate
Kolhapuri Chappal
Kullu Shawl
Madurai Sungudi Sarees
Mahabaleshwar Strawberry
Malabar Pepper
Mysore Silk
Naga Mircha
Nagpur Orange
Navara Rice of Kerala
Pochampally Ikat
Salem Fabric
Solapur Chaddar
Thanjavur Paintings
Tirupati Laddu
As in 2017
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From: November 15, 2017: The Times of India
See graphic:
Geographical Indication (GI) tag, some important items to be tagged, as in November 2017
2023
33 Indian products chosen
Binay Singh, April 4, 2023: The Times of India
Varanasi : The famous Banarasi paan and Banarasi Langda mango are the two latest products from Varanasi to have received the Geographical Indication (GI)tag.
As many as 33 products were granted GI certification on March 31 by the GI Registry, Chennai. Among them, 10 products belong to UP, including three from Varanasi. Apart from paan and mango, another famous farming product of Varanasi, the Ramnagar Bhanta (brinjal), was also granted GI certification.
Of the total 441 Indian products and 34 foreign goods that have been granted the GI tag so far, UP alone accounts for 45 goods, 20 of them from the Varanasiregion.
The “Adamchini Chawal” (rice) of neighboring Chandauli district joinedthe GI club a month ago. With the new entrants, Varanasi has now started getting GI tags in agricultural and horticultural goods. Till now, the city was known mainly for its GI-tagged handloom and handicraftgoods.
Rajni Kant, a Padma Shree awardee who facilitated GI certification for 20 goods, said: “I express my gratitude to the PM, who is also the MP of Varanasi, for taking a keen interest in promoting the traditional GI products. With his inspiration, the GI goods are going from local to global in AtmanirbharBharat Abhiyan and the country is displaying its heritage all over the world. ”
“The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), Lucknow played a pivotal role in supporting local products for getting the GI certification,” he said.
“About 20 lakh people are engaged in the production of all GI goods in Varanasi and eastern UP, making an annual turnover of nearly Rs 25,500 crore,” Kant added.
According to the GI Registry, the 10 newly certified goods from UP, among 33 products, include Aligarh Tala (lock), Bakharia Brassware, Banda Shazar Patthar Craft, Nagina Wood Craft, Pratapgarh Aonla (gooseberry), Hathras Hing (asafetida), Banarasi Langda mango, Ramnagar Bhanta, Muzaffarnagar Gur (jaggery), and Banarasi Paan.
Basohli paintings
Sanjay Khajuria, April 4, 2023: The Times of India
JAMMU: ‘Basohli Painting’, the famous Pahari miniature style of painting known for its use of bright and bold colours and peculiar facial forms, from Jammu’s Kathua district, has received the Geographical Indication (GI) tag.
It is among the 33 products that obtained the GI tagging on March 31, the highest ever in a single year, officials said.
“Basohli painting of Kathua district is the first independent GI tagged product from Jammu region,” said an official.
The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) had initiated the process for GI tagging of nine products from Jammu region in consultation with the Department of Handicrafts and Handloom in December 2020. After a long legal process, the GI tag has now finally been granted to these products, which also include Basholi Pashmina Woolen Products (Kathua), Chikri Wood Craft (Rajouri), Bhaderwah Rajma (Doda), Mushkbudji Rice (Anantnag), Kaladi (Udhampur), Sulai Honey (Ramban), Anardana (Ramban), Ladakh Wood Carving (Ladakh).
The GI tagging will prevent the unauthorised use of these products, promote their brands at international level and boost exports, officials said.
2023-24: GIs registered in India cross 600-mark
Swati Bharadwaj, April 6, 2024: The Times of India
Hyderabad: The total number of geographical indications registered in India has crossed the 600-market in 2023-24 with as many as 63 GI registrations being issued by the Intellectual Property Office on a single day — March 30, 2024. Of the 1,158 applications filed over the past 20 years, 635 are now GI registered.
The IP office granted 160 GIs tags in FY24, a threefold jump in registration as compared to FY23, said Unnat P Pandit, controller general of patents, designs and trademarks. Of the 160 GIs registered in FY24, the handicrafts category accounts for the highest at 30 followed by agriculture at 16, 11 in textiles and three each for food stuff and manufactured category, he said in a social media post. Of these, 157 GIs were Indian applications and the remaining three were foreign applications. A GI is a distinctive sign used to identify a product whose quality, reputation or other such characteristics relate to its geographical origin.
Out of the 63 GIs issued on March 30, 2024, by the IP office, Assam registered the highest number of GIs during FY24 at 19, followed by UP and Maharashtra with 16 each, Gujarat with five, Meghalaya with four and Tripura with two, he said.
With this, UP has now overtaken Tamil Nadu as the state with the highest number of GIs registered at 69, while TN now has 58 GIs. Telangana now has 17 GI tagged products with the famed Hyderabad Lac bangles getting their GI certification.
Telangana has another product under process for the GI tag — the Warangal Chapata chilli — and has identified four horticulture products – Balanagar custard apple, Nalgonda oriental pickling melon (Dosakai), Nizamabad turmeric and Kollapur mangoes from Nagarkurnool district of the state.
