GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATION

INTRODUCTION

Geographical Indications of Goods status is an indication that identifies goods as produced

from a particular locality, region or country, which has special quality or reputation
attributable to its geographical origin only. In other words, a geographical indication (GI) is a
name or sign used on products which corresponds to a specific geographical location or
origin (e.g. a town, region, or country). The use of a geographical indication, as a type of
indication of source, may act as a certification that the product possesses certain qualities, is
made according to traditional methods, or enjoys a certain reputation, due to its geographical
origin.

Geographical Indications are covered as one of the elements of Intellectual Property Rights
(IPR) under the Umbrella of Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)
1994.

For example: Darjeeling Tea, Banaras Brocades and Sarees, Kanchipuram Silk Saree,
Alphanso Mango, Nagpur Orange, Kangra painting, Bikaneri Bhujia, Meerut Scissors,
Kashmiri Pashmina and so on.

Protection of Geographical Indication (GI) has, over the years, emerged as one of the most
contentious IPR (Intellectual Property Rights) issues in the realm of the WTO’s Agreement
on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). TRIPS defines GI as any
indication that identifies a product as originating from a particular place, where a given
quality, reputation or other characteristics of the product are essentially attributable to its
geographical origin. Also a geographical indication (GI) gives exclusive right to a region
(town, province or country) to use a name for a product with certain characteristics that
corresponds to their specific location.

The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 protect the
GI’s in India. Registration of GI is not compulsory in India54. If registered, it will afford
better legal protection to facilitate an action for infringement.

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PROCEDURE TO REGISTERED GOODS UNDER GEOGRAPHICAL
INDICATIONS

STEP 1: FILING OF APPLICATION

a. Application must be made in triplicate.

b. The application shall be signed by the applicant or his agent and must be accompanied
by a statement of case.
c. Details of the special characteristics and how those standards are maintained.
d. Three certified copies of the map of the region to which the GI relates.
e. Details of the inspection structure if any to regulate the use of the GI in the territory to
which it relates.
f. Give details of all the applicant together with address. If there is a large number of
producers a collective reference to all the producers of the goods may be made in the
application and the G.I., if registered will be indicated accordingly in the register.

STEP 2 AND 3: PRELIMINARY SCRUTINY AND EXAMINATION

a. The Examiner will scrutinize the application for any deficiencies.

b. The applicant should within one month of the communication in this regard, remedy
the same.
c. The content of statement of case is assessed by a consultative group of experts will
versed on the subject.
d. The will ascertain the correctness of particulars furnished.
e. Thereafter an Examination Report would be issued.

STEP 4: SHOW CAUSE NOTICE

a. If the Registrar has any objection to the application, he will communicate such
objection.
b. The applicant must respond within two months or apply for a hearing.
c. The decision will be duly communicated. If the applicant wishes to appeal, he may
within one month make a request.
d. The Registrar is also empowered to withdraw an application, if it is accepted in error,
after giving on opportunity of being heard.

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STEP 5: PUBLICATION IN THE GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS JOURNAL

a. Every application, within three months of acceptance shall be published in the

Geographical Indications Journal.

STEP 6: OPPOSITION TO REGISTRATION

a. Any person can file a notice of opposition within three months (extendable by another
month on request which has to be filed before three months) opposing the GI
application published in the Journal.
b. The registrar shall serve a copy of the notice on the applicant.
c. Within two months the applicant shall sent a copy of the counter statement.
d. If he does not do this be shall be deemed to have abandoned his application. Where
the counter-statement has been filed, the registrar shall serve a copy on the person
giving the notice of opposition.
e. Thereafter, both sides will lead their respective evidences by way of affidavit and
supporting documents.
f. A date for hearing of the case will be fixed thereafter.

STEP 7: REGISTRATION

a. Where an application for a GI has been accepted, the registrar shall register the
geographical indication. If registered the date of filing of the application shall be
deemed to be the date of registration.
b. The registrar shall issue to the applicant a certificate with the seal of the Geographical
indications registry.

STEP 8: RENEWAL

a. A registered GI shall be valid for 10 years and can be renewed on payment of renewal
fee.

STEP 9: ADDITIONAL PROTECTION TO NOTIFIED GOODS

a. Additional protection for notified goods is provided in the Act.

STEP 10: APPEAL

a. Any person aggrieved by an order or decision may prefer an appeal to the intellectual
property appellate board (IPAB) within three months.

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 CASE STUDY: DARJEELING TEA

INTRODUCTION

Tea is India’s oldest industry in the organized manufacturing sector and has retained its
position as the single largest employer in this sector. Around 30 per cent of the world’s tea is
produced in the country. India is also the world’s largest consumer of tea. However, on the
export front India is facing huge competition from other key tea producing countries, such as
Kenya, Sri Lanka and China.

Darjeeling tea is a premium quality tea produced in the hilly regions of the Darjeeling district
West Bengal—a state in the eastern province of India. Among the teas grown in India,
Darjeeling tea offers distinctive characteristics of quality and flavour, and also a global
reputation for more than a century. Broadly speaking there are two factors which have
contributed to such an exceptional and distinctive taste, namely geographical origin and
processing. The tea gardens are located at elevations of over 2000 meters above sea level.

LOGO OF DARJEELING TEA

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ORIGIN

The history of Darjeeling tea dates back to the 1840’s, when India was a British colony.
Before the arrival of the British, the forests of the region were known as Darjeeling today was
inhabited by the Lepcha tribes. In 1828, while visiting this region located in the backdrop of
the snow-clad Himalayan range, a young British called Captain Lloyd discovered the
possibility of converting the region into a hill station or a sanitarium. In 1839, Darjeeling was
handed over to Dr. A. Campbell, a civil surgeon, who got transferred from Kathmandu to
Darjeeling to become the first Superintendent of the Darjeeling district, a position which he
held for the next twenty two years65. In 1841, Dr. Campbell brought the seeds of China
variety of tea from Kumaon hills of North

India and planted them near his residence in his Beech wood garden in Darjeeling, 2134
meters above the mean sea level. Seeing the success of Dr. Campbell’s experimental tea
nursery, the British Government decided to put out tea nurseries in the region in the year
1847. Even after the Indian independence from British rule in 1947, the British ownership
continued in many tea gardens of Darjeeling. By the end of the 1970’s, most of the tea
gardens of Darjeeling were in the hands of Indian owners. The major portion of the annual
production of Darjeeling tea is exported, the key buyers being Japan, Russia, the United
States, and the United Kingdom and other European Union (EU) countries such as France,
Germany and the Netherlands66.

In order to ensure the supply of genuine Darjeeling tea in February 2000, a compulsory
system of certifying the authenticity of exported Darjeeling tea was incorporated into the
Indian Tea Act of 1953. The system makes it compulsory for all the dealers in

Darjeeling tea to enter into a license agreement with the Tea Board of India on payment of an
annual license fee.

WHY PROTECT “DARJEELING TEA” AS GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATION

An adequate legal protection is necessary for the protection of legitimate right holders of
Darjeeling tea from the dishonest business practices of various commercial entities. For
instance, tea produced in countries like Kenya, Sri Lanka or even Nepal has often been
passed off around the world as ‘Darjeeling tea’. Appropriate legal protection of this GI can go
a long way in preventing such misuse.

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Without adequate GI protection both in the domestic and international arena it would be
difficult to prevent the misuse of Darjeeling Tea’s reputation, wherein tea produced
elsewhere would also be sold under the Darjeeling brand, causing damage to consumers and
denying the premium price to Darjeeling tea industry. The industry is now waking up to the
fact that unless

Darjeeling Tea is properly marketed and branded, the survival of the industry may be at stake
and GI protection along with stringent enforcement can go a long way in helping the industry
to improve its financial situation.

EVOLUTION OF LEGAL PROTECTION

The first attempt on the part of the Tea Board of India towards protection of the ‘Darjeeling’
brand was undertaken way back in 1983, when the ‘Darjeeling’ logo was created. The Tea
Board obtained home protection for the Darjeeling logo as a certification trade mark under
the Indian Trade and Merchandise Marks Act 1958 (now the Trade Marks Act, 1999). The
registration was granted in class 30 in the name of the Tea Board in 1986. In the same year,
the logo was registered as a trademark in several other countries [Refer Annexure A] like the
UK, the USA, Canada, Japan, Egypt, and under the Madrid Agreement covering Germany,

Austria, Spain, France, Portugal, Italy, Switzerland and former Yugoslavia67.

In the absence of a separate law dedicated exclusively to GI’s in India during that time, the
word ‘Darjeeling’ was also registered under the Trade and Merchandise Marks Act 1958 in
class 30 in the name of Tea Board in 1998. When the Geographical

Indication Act in India was enacted in September 2003, the Tea Board applied for GI
protection of ‘Darjeeling’ in October 2003.

In October 2004, Darjeeling was granted the GI status in India to become the first application
to be registered in India as a GI.

ENFORCEMENT STEPS TAKEN BY THE TEA BOARD OF INDIA

In order to prevent the misuse of ‘Darjeeling’ and the logo, the Tea Board has since 1998
hired the services of Compumark, a World Wide Watch agency. Compumark is required to
monitor and report to the Tea Board all cases of unauthorized use and attempted
registration68. Pursuant to Compumark’s appointment, several cases of attempted
registrations and unauthorized use of ‘Darjeeling’ and Darjeeling Logo have been reported.

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The tea board tried to prevent unauthorized use or attempt or actual registration of Darjeeling
word/ logo that were brought to its notice. [Refer Annexure B] Some disputes relating to
Darjeeling tea have been settled through negotiations undertaken by the tea board of India
with the foreign companies. For example Bulgari, Switzerland agreed to withdraw the legend
‘Darjeeling

Tea fragrance for men’ pursuant to legal notice and negotiations by the Tea Board. The Tea
Board has fought almost 15 cases in the last four years against infringement and misuse of the
word Darjeeling Tea worldwide which includes Russia, USA, Japan, France, Germany,
Israel, Norway and Sri Lanka etc.

FRAMEWORK

 1986 - The DARJEELING Logo created and registered in UK, USA, Canada, Japan,
and Egypt and under the Madrid Agreement covering Germany, Austria, Spain,
France, Portugal, Italy, Switzerland and former Yugoslavia.
 1999 - Darjeeling Certified Trademark Protection Scheme.
 2004 - DARJEELING TEA registered as Geographical Indication as Sl. No. 1 & 2.
 2007 - The application for registration of DARJEELING as GI under ECR 510 in the
European Union member countries was submitted to the European Commission at
Brussel.

UNIQUENESS

There is no doubt: teas from Darjeeling are unique in taste and sought after by tea
connoisseurs around the world. But why is its taste, known as "Muscatel" (especially
regarding the Second Flush teas) so unique? What makes it different from other teas?

1. It possesses a distinctive and naturally occurring quality and flavour which has
won the patronage and recognition of discerning consumers all over the world for
well over a century.
2. Flavonoids - Flavonoids are antioxidants. Antioxidants accept electrons from reactive
oxygen species caused by UV-radiation. In this way antioxidants inhibit respectively
retard the plant´s cell damage. And because Darjeeling is one of the highest tea-
growing regions, its teas show consequently some of the highest amounts of
antioxidants. These are, after harvesting and processing: Catechins - which belong to

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 Flavanols, a subclass of Flavanoids - in green tea, and Theaflavins and Theobromine
in black tea.
3. But Flavonoids do not only serve as antioxidants for (tea) plants. Derivatives like
Flavonoid Glycoside "are known to serve as antioxidants and also as aroma
precursors." The higher the amount of these derivatives, the more aroma precursors
are available and the greater is the aroma (in intensity and/or complexity).
4. The process of manufacture too plays a critical role in the uniqueness of Darjeeling
tea. Most tea growing areas have embraced highly mechanized production techniques
centering only on high yields and not on quality. However, in Darjeeling, tea is still
processed using the original ‘Orthodox’ method of manufacturing and not the modern
CTC (Curling, Tearing & Crushing) method. This time-consuming and labor intensive
process requires great expertise and gives the manufacturers greater control over the
many factors that affect the chemistry of the leaves. These are the very attributes that
give each batch its special characteristics and have led to Darjeeling Tea being called
the “Champagne of teas” for the last 150 years.

STRENGTH

1. Trade Supply Chain Integrity System

 Introduced a trade chain management system for surveillance and monitoring of
the supply chain and addressing traceability issues in the Darjeeling tea trade
chain.
 Two computerized data collection centers have been setup in Darjeeling and
Kolkata, connected through internet enabled services.
 The system entails computerized collection and validation of all plantation and
processing related data, namely;
– Daily green leaf plucking records
– Daily area plucked records
– Daily Manpower used records
– Daily green leaf transfer/purchase records
– Daily processing records
– Daily invoice entry records
– Daily dispatch records

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 2. Trade Supply Chain Audit
 Appointed an independent certification agency to conduct trade chain audit to
check and validate the authenticity of the data collected through the Trade Supply
Chain Integrity System.
 The certification agency will conduct onsite checking and verification of all the
data submitted by all entities in the trade chain.
 Approximately 33 % of the all entities registered under each category will be
audited each year, with every entity undergoing a complete verification once in 3
years.
 Annually 10% of all the registered entities will be subject to random and totally
unannounced spot checks.
 Full verification/spot-check will be conducted each year on the basis of a risk
analysis.
 All data/information/material obtained/generated during the audits will be kept
strictly confidential.
3. Darjeeling Tea Industry
 Spread over 17,800 hectares.
 Produces approx. 8 to 9 million kg tea.
 87 tea estates.
 More than 1 Lakh workers, predominantly women.
 Main economic activity of the area.
 Over 70% is exported.

CHALLENGES

1. Adulteration.
2. Limited quantity.
3. Vast market.
4. Old trade practices.
5. Market access.
6. Consumer awareness.
7. Bulk packaging.
8. High cost of promotion and distribution.
9. Enforcement.
10. Lack of vision.

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INITIATIVES BY THE INDUSTRY TO OVERCOME THE CHALLENGES

1. Creating Niche (Organic).

2. Trade Associations.
3. Co-Branding.
4. Retail Chains.
5. Single Estate Branding.
6. Generic Brand Promotion as GI.

NEED FOR PROMOTION OF GI

Promotion and protection go hand in hand, starting at the place of origin up to countries
where protection is sought.

The reasons:

• In settling GI protection/ infringement cases, Enforcement Authorities in different countries

base their judgment on consumer perception vis a vis that particular GI amongst consumers
of that country.

• There is need to create awareness through consumer campaigns on what Darjeeling Tea is
and the implications of GI protection. This awareness generation to build on brand equity and
make audiences at large understand the consequences of violation of regulations. Without this
awareness GIs cannot be protected.

Objectives:

Promotion of Darjeeling Tea in the domestic market:

• Build on brand equity

• Create awareness of IPR protection

• Teach consumers how to assess the quality

• Establish a Darjeeling Community on the web for personalized interaction between

growers, traders and consumers.

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SUGGESTION AND RECOMMENDATION

1. Government of India and tea board of India along with Darjeeling tea planters and
marketers should join hand to protect the identity of Darjeeling tea as a real GI
belonging to India and should come out with the innovative idea such as “TEA
TOURISM” for promotion of genuine Darjeeling tea in international arena.
2. Giving the international visitors the experience of Himalayan hills (Darjeeling hills),
culture and tradition of Darjeeling and a mesmerizing and joyful ride in world
heritage toy train of Darjeeling.

CONCLUSION

While the Tea Board has made strides in its quest for international recognition of Darjeeling
tea as a trademark, recognition of Darjeeling Tea as a Geographical Indicator in the
international arena is still to be achieved, primarily due to the fact that Article 23 of TRIPS
gives good protection to Wines and Spirits, but currently not for other products. The lack of a
multilateral system of notification and registration for products like Darjeeling Tea which is
available for wines and spirits, is jeopardizing the international protection that would offer
adequate protection. It is therefore important for India to seek extension of GI protection to
other products by amending Article 23 of the TRIPS.

ANNEXTURE A

List of Applications for DARJEELING word and logo marks

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List of Registrations for DARJEELING word and logo marks as on October 23, 2006

ANNEXTURE B

Misuse of ‘Darjeeling’ Opposed by the Tea Board of India

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REFERENCES

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darjeeling_tea
2. https://www.altacit.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/The-Protection-of-
Geographical-Indication-in-India-Case-Study-on-Darjeeling-Tea
3. https://www.wipo.int/edocs/mdocs/geoind/en/wipo_geo_lim_11/wipo_geo_lim_11_1
1

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