Patent laws for local products get stronger

NEW DELHI: Geographical indications are here. This means that Indian products which derive their exclusivity from their place of origin — Basmati rice, Darjeeling tea, Agra peta, Bikaner bujia — will now have stronger protection, than what they currently have under the ‘certificates of trademark.’
The government is set to receive applications for India''s geographical indications registry, taking cue from the British and the French who have frustrated deceitful commercial use of the celebrated distinction of Scotch whisky and champagne by special laws.
The department of industrial policy and promotion recently notified the final rules (under the Geographical Indications of Goods, Registration and Protection, Act 1999) laying down the criteria and procedure for registration of products known and distinguished by their geographical indications. The geographical indications registry is already in place and the office of the registrar at Chennai has commenced functions technically. The government will shortly solicit applications for entry into the registry, sources said. The applicant will have to register not only the product by name, but also describe for record the distinguishing features of the product. An expert committee will verify the claims before granting the registration.
As a form of IPR, geographical indications are distinct from other forms like patents, trademarks and copyrights, because the ownership of the rights in this case is with a ‘community’ or a ‘group of people’ rather than an individual or a corporate or non-corporate firm. as is the case with other IPRs.
"With the notification inviting applications for the registry, the Act will become operational," said a government source. Under the Act, there is an ‘enabling provision’ vesting with the government the power to notify, whenever warranted, items that would be accorded a higher protection level.
Internationally, as per the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) norms, trademarks could fail to provide adequate protection for products having unique characteristics because of geographical or ecological reasons. Apart from the UK and France, a host of countries including Bulgaria, Hungary and Turkey have separate laws for protection relating to geographical indications of a product.
As per the WIPO principles, which are influenced by the specific British and French laws on Scotch whisky and champagne, wines and spirits would warrant a higher protection on account of geographical indications. This means that punitive measures could be taken even in relation to remote claims of equivalence or similarity with a product registered for its geographical indications.