Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection)

Act, 1999
Geographical Indications (“GI”) are those, which identify a good as originating in a
place where a given quality, reputation, or other characteristic of the good is essentially
attributable to its geographical origin. Some better-known examples of GI are “Champagne,”
“Bordeaux,” and “Chianti,” the first two being regions in France and the third, a region in Italy,
all famous for their wines. In the Indian context, „Darjeeling Tea‟ was the first GI registered
under the GI Act. This GI is registered in the name of the Tea Board of India which also hold GI
registrations for „Nilgiri Tea‟ and „Assam Tea‟. Similarly, the Coffee Board (under the Ministry
of Commerce & Industry) has a subsisting registration for Malabar Coffee. Other well-known
GIs include „Kashmiri Pashmina‟, „Mysore Silk‟, „Lucknow Chicken Craft‟ and „Feni‟. The
convention application for „Champagne‟ was filed in September 2008 and is in the process of
registration.

The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 came
into effect on September 15, 2003. The Act was passed with the goal of providing protection, as
a GI, to any agricultural, natural, or manufactured goods, or to any goods of handicraft or
industry, including foodstuffs.

I. Registration
The Act provides for the registration of a GI and the „authorized user‟ thereof. Any
person claiming to be the producer of goods in respect of a registered GI can apply for
registering him as an authorized user. The authorized user is able to bring an action against the
wrongful users of GI. Convention applications can also be filed under this Act.

An application for registration can be filed by any:-

 organisation of persons or producers, or

 organisation or authority established by or under any law,

 such organisation or authority representing the interest of the producers of the concerned
goods.

The office of the Geographical Indications Registry is in Chennai.

To qualify as a GI, two requirements must be satisfied:

(i) the territorial aspect i.e. as to how the GI serves to designate the goods originating from the
concerned territory,

(ii) a given quality, reputation, or other characteristic should be essentially attributable to the
geographical origin.

II. Rights Conferred by Registration

Registration of a GI confers the following rights on the registered proprietor and the
authorized users:

 Right to obtain relief in respect of the infringement of the GI; and

 Exclusive right to use the GI in relation to the goods for which GI is registered

TWO OR MORE AUTHORIZED USERS OF A REGISTERED GI SHALL HAVE

CO-EQUAL RIGHTS.

III. Classes
All the goods have been classified in accordance with the International Classification of
Goods for the purposes of GI registration.
IV. Duration and Renewal
GI registration is valid for a period of ten years, and may be renewed thereafter from time
to time. The registration of an authorized user is valid for a period of ten years or for the period
until the date on which the GI registration expires, whichever is earlier.

V. Procedure for Registration

The procedure for registering a GI and procedure for registering oneself as an authorized
user are substantially the same. The procedure is as follows:

VI. Prohibition of Assignment or Transmission

GI, being a public proprietary right, is not assignable or transmissible by any other
means. Therefore, the Act prohibits the assignment, transmission, licensing, pledge, or mortgage
or any such other agreement in respect of a GI.

VII. Infringement
The Act also provides for infringement and passing off actions, thus recognizing the
common law right in a GI, which includes civil as well as criminal remedies. Infringement has
been defined to include unfair competition.

An action for infringement of a GI may be initiated in a District Court or High Court

having jurisdiction. Available relief includes injunctions, discovery of documents, damages or
accounts of profits, delivery-up of the infringing labels, and indications for destruction or
erasure.