By Dr. Sailaja Petikam
In respect of any agricultural goods, natural goods or manufactured goods or any goods of handicraft or goods of industry including foodstuff, there was no specific law governing geographical indications of such goods which could adequately protect the interests of producers of such goods.
To prevent unauthorized persons from misusing geographical indications would protect consumers from deception and would add to the economic prosperity of the producers of such goods and would also promote goods bearing Indian Geographical Indications in the export market.
Geographical Indication is an intellectual property right equal to trademarks, designs or patents.
In 1994, when negotiations on the WTO Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) were concluded, governments of all Member Countries of WTO had agreed to set certain basic standards for the protection of Geographical Indications in all member countries.
The Geographical Indication of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act was passed in 1999 (Act No. 48 of 1999). Section 2(1)(e) of the Geographical Indication of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 defines “Geographical Indication” in relation to goods as an indication which identifies such goods as agricultural goods, natural goods or manufactured goods as originating, or manufactured, in the territory of a country, or a region or locality in that territory, where a given quality, reputation or other characteristic of such goods is essentially attributable to its geographical origin.
In the case of manufactured goods, one of the activities of either the production or of processing or preparation of the goods concerned takes place in such territory, region or locality, as the case may be.
Geographical Indication
Geographical Indication can also be defined as a sign used on goods that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that is due to that place of origin.
Geographical indications generally refer to any indication that identifies a good as originating from a particular place, where a given quality, reputation or other characteristics of the goods are essentially attributable to its geographical origin.
Geographical indications need not always be geographical names, such as the name of a town, a region or a country, to designate the origin of goods to which they are attached, but may consist of symbols as well.
For instance, “Champagne” is a geographical name that denotes the sparkling wine produced in the Champagne District of France, but “Basmati” is a symbol which stands for some particular varieties of slender, long-grained, aromatic rice produced in the Greater Punjab region, now divided between India and Pakistan.
Characteristics of Geographical Indications
Geographical indications identify the specific geographical origin of a product and the associated qualities, reputation or other characteristics. They usually consist of the name of the place of origin.
Agricultural and foodstuffs sometimes have qualities that derive from their place of production and local environmental factors. Geographical indications are understood by consumers to denote the origin and quality of the product.
Geographical indications acquire valuable reputations which, if not adequately protected, may be misrepresented by dishonest commercial operators.
Functions of Geographical Indications
Basically, geographical indications have three functions. They provide information about:
- The name of a product.
- The geographical origin of the product.
- A given quality, reputation or characteristics essentially attributable to a geographical area.
The economic function of geographical indications is much the same as that of trademarks. First, there exists related goodwill. Secondly, they establish and protect market identity by distinguishing the goods bearing a geographical indication from the same or similar goods of a different geographical origin, though this distinctiveness is on a collective rather than individual level.
This does not mean that geographical indications are not private rights like all other categories of intellectual property. Geographical indications are used collectively by several private persons engaged in production of goods bearing the geographical indication.
Like in the case of trademarks, the use of geographical indication permits the consumer to associate a name or other sign to directly unobservable attributes of a product. From the legal point of view, geographical indications share many properties with trademarks, such as distinctiveness, non-deceptiveness and unlimited duration of protection.
Geographical indications are not a collective trademark, such as ‘Reliance’, but they identify particular goods as originating from a certain territory.
From the commercial point of view, geographical indication is closely related to their function as individualizing symbols of goods of a specific geographic origin and their value in marketing.
The traditional function of geographical indication is principally to serve as a designation of origin. The geographical indication immediately involves association with the geographical origin of the product. It is the association with the place of origin that individualizes the product.
Distinction between Geographical Indications and Trade Mark
A trademark is a sign affiliated with or used by a manufacturer or an enterprise to distinguish its goods or services from those of others. It implies a certain amount of human creativity. It gives its owner the right to exclude others from using that trademark.
Geographical indications are also a sign which indicates to consumers the quality, reputation and other characteristics of the goods coming from a defined area, i.e. the place of origin. It may be used by all producers who make their products in the place designated by a Geographical Indication and whose products share specified qualities.
A trademark often consists of a fanciful name or device. The name used as a Geographical Indication is predetermined by the name of the place of origin.
There is no originality or invention or discovery involved, and the Geographical Indications may depend on traditional knowledge for that product development or on the talent of the craftsman.
The development of Geographical Indications is a time-tested process and, to carve an aura about the product, it takes decades or even centuries. Geographical Indications create a positive impression of product quality, the environmental virtue and human skill of the area.
Geographical indications are not a collective mark as the use of the trademark “JP” or “Reliance” is reserved for use by members of “JP” or “Reliance”, but a geographical indication identifies particular goods as originating in a certain territory of a country, or region or locality of a country, where a given quality, reputation or other characteristics of the goods is essentially attributable to its geographical origin, comprising natural environment and human factors.