What is a geographical indication?
Geographical Indication (GI) is a sign used in a product from a particular region. The product must have the dignity and qualities of the place of origin. GI is often registered in products produced by rural, indigenous and indigenous communities for generations that have gained great prestige at the international and national level because of its unique qualities. The GI tag entitles only those registered users the right to use a brand name, and prevents others from using a brand name that does not meet the specified standards.
Benefits of GI Tags
-The location index right allows those who have the right to use the index to prevent its use by a third party whose product does not comply with applicable standards.
- Geographical Indication tags are provided for products
- Legal protection of property
- Prevent unauthorized or illegal use of individual location index tags.
- Assist customers in finding real items that contain all the specific features.
- Enhancing the economic prosperity of manufacturers / manufacturers of items under GI tags. Items with GI tags are finding increased demand in the national and international markets
What rights does a geographical indication provide?
The Geographical indication allows those who have the right to use the index to prevent its use by a third party whose product does not comply with applicable standards. For example, in areas where the Darjeeling area index is protected, Darjeeling tea producers may exclude the use of the word “Darjeeling” tea that has not been grown in their tea gardens or not produced according to the standards set in the operating code. by location index.
However, the protected area indicator does not allow the holder to prevent someone from making a product using the same techniques as those set in the standards for that signal. Location index protection is usually achieved by obtaining a right over the sign that forms the index.
Registration of Geographical Indications
In December 1999, Parliament passed the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act,1999. This Act aims to provide for the better registration and protection of Indian property indexes. The law will be administered by the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks - the Registrar of Geographical Indices. The Geographical Indication Registry will be available in Chennai. This Act came into effect on 15 September 2003.
Why Should You Obtain Geographical Indication Protection?
Many people and organizations around the world are often confused as to whether it is helpful to get GI protection or not. Some of the benefits of registering a location index are the following, which will help you to understand its significance.
1 - ENHANCES ECONOMIC GROWTH:
Protection of local indicators leads to the complete economic prosperity of producers and producers. In addition, the marketing and promotion of products with GI tags enhances secondary economic activity in a particular region, which in turn promotes regional economic development. Lastly, the protection of local indicators creates a positive image and reputation of the product in the minds of consumers and rewards producers with incentives and better ROI.
2 - PREVENTS UNAUTHORIZED USE OF GI TAGS:
The registered owner of the GI tag has every legal right to restrict anyone who does not belong to the GI region from using his or her GI tags. Owners may also take legal action against an unauthorized user in order to maintain his or her reputation for damages.
3 - EXPANDS BUSINESS:
The main purpose of registering a geographical indication is to seek the protection of certain locally produced products, which further encourages and motivates retailers to grow their business on a global scale. In addition, the protection of local indicators improves exports and helps producers to better locate themselves.
4 - INCREASES TOURISM:
The protection of GI tags builds a global brand reputation. People all over the world recognize the various GI products from different regions and are inspired to visit those regions and use such products. Therefore, it contributes to the growth of the region's tourism industry.
Potential Benefits of Geographical Indicators (GI)
● Benefits to Local Communities: GI protection has many broad benefits, especially in local communities. In particular, it promotes the conservation of biodiversity, geographical knowledge and natural resources and is where India can thrive.
● Soft Economic Power: Many benefits flow from a robust GI ecosystem, which can be a source of economic power and soft energy. It will automatically solve three Indian problems plagued by low-paying wages, low participation of women in labor, and urbanization. It will transform talent into entrepreneurs and gig staff, and create a “vibrant” economy, that is, a new way for individuals to make money with their skills and grow their businesses increasingly.
● Eliminates barriers associated with self-employment to earn regular income from a source other than the employer. Increase Population Employment: GI's demand for more staff provides the best solution to improve the employment rate in India, which is a very high rate of 43% compared to the global average of 55%. Making money from home-based handicrafts will increase the participation rate of Indian women, with 21% in 2019 being part of the global average of 47%.
● Reverse Urban Migration: GI's hyper-localized environment provides solutions to reverse urban migration and preserve ancient Indian art, culture and food. The renewal of MSMEs, comprising 31% of India's GDP and 45% exports, will follow. An estimated 55.80 million MSMEs employ approximately 130 million people; Of this, 14% are women-headed businesses and 59.5% are in rural areas.
● Another revenue generator, GI tourism, a common product of a solid GI ecosystem.
Drawbacks
● GI capacity has not been achieved in India as efforts so far have focused only on the first step in completing GI.
● Applying for a GI is a major task that involves documenting historical evidence about product and regional links and the application must be completed by an organization or group of people.
Registration activities posted in terms of using the GI certificate as a marketing / branding tool for manufacturers' benefit have not been tested on most registered products due to limited GI awareness in the country between manufacturers, consumers and policy makers.
This article is written by Sushant Tare of St.Rocks College of Commerce, Science & Law.