High Court dismisses Peru's petition for 'Pisco' rights

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday dismissed the embassy of Peru's petition seeking exclusive rights over the alcoholic beverage 'Pisco', holding that both Peru and Chile have legitimate claims to the name.

A division bench of justices C Hari Shankar and Om Prakash Shukla upheld a July order by a single judge, ruling that Peru can use the term 'Peruvian Pisco' but cannot claim exclusive rights over 'Pisco'.

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The court said both countries have a long-standing history of using the mark 'Pisco' for alcoholic beverages, and no single country can claim exclusivity in India.

"Both Peru and Chile had established use of the mark 'Pisco' for alcoholic beverages. Section 9A [of Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999] is a bar to the grant of a standalone Pisco GI (geographical indication) to Peru."

This is the first case in which two countries have contested geographical indication rights before an Indian court.