A Registry at Chennai with all-India jurisdiction: how a Geographical Indication is protected

Background

A Geographical Indication, or GI, ties a product to the place it comes from and protects the traditional knowledge behind it. As a form of intellectual property, a GI gets international recognition from the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property and from the World Trade Organization agreement on trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights, known as TRIPS. In India the law is the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act of 1999, with Rules notified under it. Registration and protection are overseen by the Geographical Indications Registry at Chennai, which has all-India jurisdiction. An application may be filed at the Registry itself or sent by post, registered post, speed post or courier services. A registration is valid for ten years and can be renewed from time to time, while cancellation or variation is governed by Section 27 of the Act on an application by any aggrieved person. Generic names no longer protected in their country of origin, indications that mislead buyers about origin, and indications that offend religious sentiments cannot be registered. The first Indian product to get a GI tag was Darjeeling Tea of West Bengal, and the early registrations also included Aranmula Kannadi from Kerala and Pochampalli Ikat from Telangana.