Paranthe Wali Gali

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

A geographical indication is an indication or a sign which specifies the geographical origin of the product and links it with the essential qualities that are present in the product due to that place of the origin. It is mainly used to identify the agricultural, handicraft, manufacturing goods from the particular territory which has developed a good will in the market due to the special characteristics like temperature, humidity, soil etc. associated with the territory that are unique, eg. Darjeeling tea. The geographical indication is generally owned by a community which belongs to that particular location. A geographical indication can be a mark defined by the words or numbers or may be combination of both. Goods or packages used to indicate the place of origin of the goods. In international transaction, marks of origin include marks of the country of origin and geographical indications.

Under the TRIPS Agreement, countries are under no obligation to extend protection to a particular geographical indication unless that geographical indication is protected in the country of its origin. India signed TRIPS agreement in 1995, in order to comply with the TRIPS agreements India started giving protection for Geographical Indication from 15th September 2003.

Registering Geographical Indication is always beneficial as the owner can prevent others from unauthorized usage or from commercializing of the registered product. However the registration of GI is not mandatory in India, unregistered GI are protected under passing off cases, but it’s always advisable to register the geographical origin as no further proof is required.

Geographical indication is generally owned by a community. Any organization or association of people established under law can apply for geographical indication in prescribed format indicating the interest of the producers of the concern goods.

GI registry is located in Chennai in India, applicant must file an application at the...