PROTECTION OF GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS
Vandana Singh*
One of the Jural postulate of Roscoe Pound states that in civilized society men must be able to assume that they may control for beneficial purposes what they have discovered and appropriated to their own use, what they have created by their own labour, and what they have acquired under the existing social and economic order. Protection of IPRs is not much different from this postulate of Pound.
The development of ideas is distinctively human. The forms by which our ideas are expressed differ from person to person; also the same person may express even the same idea in different forms. In modern times, this form of expression (& not the idea itself) is regarded as "intellectual work" and is therefore the "Intellectual Property" of the owner. The World Intellectual Property Organization, located at Geneva, helps in processing & co-ordination of applications safeguarding this property according to member country laws & conditions. WIPO itself does not formulate laws; these are framed by the member countries.
The main objectives behind protection given to intellectual properties is to ensure that it is used in industrial and other activities for the betterment of society, to obtain financial gain for the owner, & to motivate others to create further intellectual work. This protection typically takes the form of "rights" (Intellectual Property Rights) afforded to the owner to use this intellectual property towards these purposes, and expressly forbidding others from making similar use of the property. The particular property right discussed here is Geographical Indication - its registration and protection.
GI is a notice of a specific product having been produced in a particular place. The producer can use this indication only for products from the specified region. Unlike a trademark, however, the GI is not an individual property for use by the owner alone, but it suggests the geographical indication of that region, which any producer may use. The consumer has faith in the quality of the product of the region for e.g. Alphanso Mango of Ratnagiri, chilies of Kolhapur, Sonpapadi of Nagpur, Champagne from France, etc. Geographical indication is in relation to goods originated or manufactured in the territory of country or a region or locality in that territory where a given quality-reputation or other characteristic of such goods is attributable to its geographical origin. In case such goods are manufactured goods ,one of the activities of either the production or of processing or of preparation of the goods concerned takes place in such a place, region or locality (Appellation of origin).
Let us further clarify the difference between a geographical indication and an appellation of origin. Geographical indication is a notice, which tells that, a given product originates in a certain geographical area. While appellation of origin is a specific type of geographical indication, which ascertains certain qualities, which are due essentially or exclusively to its place of origin, or may be because of peculiar conditions, e.g. soil in that area. All appellations of origin are geographical indications but all geographical indications are not appellations of origin e.g. Roquefort cheese.
In recent years, the Indian Govt. has become aware of the importance of GI following the fiascos relating to Basmati, turmeric and recently Pashmina. India faced numerous difficulties in fighting a legal battle against American patent of Basmati, as the country did not have written & published documentation supporting its claim that Basmati should have such GI protection. In response to this new threat of intellectual piracy, both the houses of parliament have passed the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration & Protection )Act, 1999. Section 2(e) of the act defines Geographical indication in relation to goods as agricultural goods, natural goods, manufactured goods originated or manufactured in the territory of country or a region or locality in that territory where a given quality reputation or other characteristic of such goods are attributable to its geographical origin and in case such goods are manufactured goods one of the activities of either the production or of processing or of preparation of the goods concerned takes place in such a place, region or locality.
Geographical indications have a wide variety of protections. They can be protected nationally and internationally.
At the international level, prior to the advent of the TRIPs agreement of the WTO in 1994 there was no multilateral agreement dealing with the protection of GIs as such, though some international treaties were there which did contain provision on the protection of related concepts like indication of source or appellation of origin. They were as follows in chronology:
(a) Paris Convention, 1883
(b) Madrid Convention for the Repression of False Indication of origin, 1891(supplemented at Stockholm in 1967)
(c) Lisbon Agreement, 1958 (as Amended in 1979)
Landmark protection came under the auspices of WTO, which has TRIPs agreement as one of the prime stress area. Under TRIPs seven types of intellectual property are protected and GIs find mention among these seven. Articles 22, 23 and 24 of TRIPs agreement took GIs protection to a next level.
At the national level they can be protected either by decree or by a register. . a) National laws: - it is necessary to that each nation should make its own laws to protect & register the GI goods. India has the opportunity to formulate such laws and registers by 2005 and it is in such scenario that the “ Geographical Indication of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999” was enacted and formulated as part of the exercise in the country to set in place national intellectual property in compliance with India’s obligations under TRIPs Agreement. Under this Act which has came into force with effect from 15th September 2003, the Central Government has established the ‘Geographical Indications Registry’ with all India’s jurisdiction at Chennai, where the right holders can register their respective GIs. The GI Act is to be administered by Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks who is the Registrar of GIs.

It is interesting to notice that though Article 23 of TRIPs afford a higher level of protection to GIs denominating wines and spirits only, the corresponding provisions in the Indian Act do not restrict themselves to wines and spirit alone. Rather it has been left in the discretion of the Central Government to decide which goods or classes of goods should be granted such a higher level of protection.

The sufficient condition, however, is definitely an extension of the ‘absolute’ level of protection, currently afforded by TRIPs only to GIs designating wines and spirits to cover all other GIs. Because, in its current status, the TRIPs Agreement does not impose any obligation on the member countries of the WTO to ensure the ‘absolute’ protection for the GIs of Indian origin in their respective countries. However, as discussed above, without such ‘absolute’ protection, these appellations cannot be safeguarded completely at the international front.
During the available time it is necessary to search the geographically specialized goods & register them in "community registers" that can be prepared in every village/town. But it is necessary to include the geographical specialties & define the particular nature of the indication scientifically. A number of different steps are crucial in creating such registers.
1. Compile a list of the special products grown or manufactured in a region, which have geographical peculiarities.
2. Obtain detailed information of the relation of geography to the product - for e.g. the soil quality, weather, water, etc.
3. Identify the specific human resources required in the manufacturing process.
4. Perform a qualitative & quantitative classification of the product.
5. Establish the commercial viability of the product.
6. Compile a history of the profession whether it is hereditary & belongs to a particular community.
7. Record whether the product is used for domestic purpose e.g. for medicinal, cosmetic or as diet ingredient.
8. Most importantly, clearly identify its traditional, religious or cultural uses.
Developed nations around the world have created the infrastructure by which their intellectual property is safeguarded very well. In order to remain competitive and to prevent the loss of its own properties, India must build similarly strong systems. The nature of international agreements has created a strange beast - the trade agreements tend to define the nature of trade, rather than the other way around. Because there was a process under which the Basmati patent could have been awarded to an American company, and because India had not engaged that process fully and vigorously, the export of 45,000 tones of Basmati was suddenly under threat. The economic security of Indians lies in identifying our rightful geographic indications, and in remaining vigilant about potential abuses of these rights by competitors.