Geographical Indications (GI TAG)

Context:

Sixteen varieties of mangoes including three GI certified varieties exported to Bahrain from West Bengal & Bihar

About Geographical Indications:

• A geographical indication (GI) is a name or sign used on certain products which corresponds to a specific geographical location or origin (e.g., a town, region, or country). 
• 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.
• GIs have been defined under Article 22 (1) of the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement as: “Indications which identify a good as originating in the territory of a member, or a region or a locality in that territory, where a given quality, reputation or characteristic of the good is essentially attributable to its geographic origin.”

Benefits of GI Tags

The Geographical Indication registration confers the following benefits:

• Legal protection to the products
• Prevents unauthorised use of GI tag products by others
• It helps consumers to get quality products of desired traits and is assured of authenticity
• Promotes the economic prosperity of producers of GI tag goods by enhancing their demand in national and international markets

Along with the benefits, there are certain issues associated with GI tags as well. Off late, there has been a rise in disputes over the question of the place of origin of the product under consideration. This gets aggravated due to a lack of clear historical evidence. 

For example, the disputes surrounding the origin of Roshogulla, a popular dessert, from eastern India. Both West Bengal and Odisha claim that the dessert originated in their own states. By ‘winning’ a GI tag, each state is looking to promote its own cultural and regional jingoism over the other.

As a point of discussion, this sort of unhealthy competition tends to polarise the country on regional, cultural and linguistic lines. Most states in their rush to corner as many GI tags as possible have forgotten to pay attention to enhance the value of products already having a GI tag. 

As a result, neither the local community nor the customer is benefitting economically. This trend undercuts the very idea of GI protection to native endemic products.

Significance of GI Tags

A geographical indication right facilitates those who have the right to use the indication to prohibit its usage by a third party whose product does not conform to the applicable standards.

For example, in the purview in which the Darjeeling geographical indication is protected, producers of Darjeeling tea can omit the term “Darjeeling” for tea not grown in their tea gardens or not produced according to the norms set out in the code of practice for the geographical indication.

However, a protected GI does not permit the holder to forbid someone from making a product using the same approaches as those set out in the standards for that indication. Protection for a GI tag is usually procured by acquiring a right over the sign that constitutes the indication.

Role of GI in Rural Development

Geographical indications are mostly traditional products, produced by rural communities over generations that have gained prominence on the markets for their precise qualities.

The recognition and protection of the markets of these products allow the producers’ community to devote and maintaining the precise qualities of the product on which the reputation is built. This might also allow them to invest together in promoting the reputation of the product.

Some of the observed rural development impacts of GI are:

• The supply chain is structured around a common product reputation
• Increased and stabilised prices for the GI product
• Distributed through all the levels of the supply chain adds value
• Natural resources can be preserved on which the product is based
• Preservation of traditions and traditional expertise
• Tourism can be boosted

Geographical Indications Protection

Geographical indications are protected and preserved in various countries and regional systems through a wide array of approaches and often using a consolidation of two or more approaches. 

There are three major ways to protect a geographical indication:

1. So-called sui generis systems (i.e. special regimes of protection)
2. Using collective or certification marks
3. Techniques concentrating on business practices, including administrative product approval schemes

These approaches have been developed in consonance with different legal practices and within a framework of individual historical and economic conditions.

The approaches to protect GI comprise differences with respect to critical questions like conditions for protection or the scope of protection. On the other hand, the two modes of protection mentioned above namely sui generis systems and collective or certification mark systems, share some common characteristics, such as the fact that they set up rights for collective use by those who comply with defined standards.

State-Wise List of GI Tags in India

The GI tags allotted to the handicraft, agricultural, food or manufactured products are listed down below state-wise:

Source: PIB