Geographical Indications-An Overview

Geographical Indications-An overview

Geographical Indications are the Intellectual Property Rights, which refers to a country or to a place situated therein, as being the country or place of origin of that product. Geographical Indications are covered under Articles 22 to 24 of Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement. Further, there are provisions under the Paris Convention for the protection of the Intellectual Property Rights.

India, as a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), enacted the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration & Protection) Act, 1999 has come into force with effect from 15^th September, 2003. 

Name of the appropriate office for application for Registration of Geographical Indication in India as under:

Geographical Indications Registry

Intellectual Property Office Building,

G.S.T Road, Guindy,

Chennai – 600 032

Geographical Indications as registered till date by the IPR department are as under:

S. no.	Application No.	Geographical Goods		State/Country
1	1&2	Darjeeling Tea	Manufactured	West Bengal
2	3	Aranmula Kannadi	Handicraft	Kerala
3	4	Pochampalli Ikat	Handicraft	Andhra Pradesh
4	5	Salem Fabric	Handicraft	Tamil Nadu
5	7	Chanderi Fabric	Handicraft	Madhya Pradesh
6	8	Solapur Chaddar	Handicraft	Maharashtra
7	9	Solapur Terry Towel	Handicraft	Maharashtra
8	10	Kotpad Handloom fabric	Handicraft	Orissa
9	11	Mysore Silk	Handicraft	Karnataka
10	12	Kota Doria	Handicraft	Rajasthan
11	13 & 18	Mysore Agarbathi	Manufactured	Karnataka
12	15	Kancheepuram Silk	Handicraft	Tamil Nadu
13	16	Bhavani Jamakkalam	Handicraft	Tamil Nadu
14	19	Kullu Shawl	Handicraft	Himachal Pradesh
15	20	Bidriware	Handicraft	Karnataka
16	21	Madurai Sungudi	Handicraft	Tamil Nadu
17	22	Orissa Ikat	Handicraft	Orissa
18	23	Channapatna Toys & Dolls	Handicraft	Karnataka
19	24	Mysore Rosewood Inlay	Handicraft	Karnataka
20	25	Kangra Tea	Agricultural	Himachal Pradesh
21	26	Coimbatore Wet Grinder	Manufactured	Tamil Nadu
22	28	Srikalahasthi Kalamkari	Handicraft	Andhra Pradesh
23	29	Mysore Sandalwood Oil	Manufactured	Karnataka
24	30	Mysore Sandal soap	Manufactured	Karnataka
25	31	Kasuti Embroidery	Handicraft	Karnataka
26	32	Mysore Traditional	Handicraft	Karnataka
27	33	Coorg Orange	Agricultural	Karnataka
28	34	Mysore Betel Leaf	Agricultural	Karnataka
29	35	Nanjanagud Banana	Agricultural	Karnataka
30	37	Madhubani Paintings	Handicraft	Bihar
31	44	Kondapalli Bommallu	Handicraft	Andhra Pradesh
32	47	Thanjavur Paintings	Handicraft	Tamil Nadu
33	53	Silver Filigree of Karimnagar	Handicraft	Andhra Pradesh
34	54	Alleppey Coir	Handicraft	Kerala
35	55	Muga Silk	Handicraft	Assam
36	65	Temple Jewellery of Nagercoil	Handicraft	Tamil Nadu
37	69	Mysore Jasmine	Agricultural	Karnataka
38	70	Udupi Jasmine	Agricultural	Karnataka
39	71	Hadagali Jasmine	Agricultural	Karnataka
40	17	Navara Rice	Agricultural	Kerala
41	36	Palakkadan Matta Rice	Agricultural	Kerala
42	63	Thanjavur Art Plate	Handicraft	Tamil Nadu
43	76	Ilkal Sarees	Handicraft	Karnataka
44	73	Applique Khatwa Patch Work of Bihar –	Handicraft	Bihar
45	74	Sujini Embriodery Work of Bihar	Handicraft	Bihar
46	75	Sikki Grass Work of Bihar	Handicraft	Bihar
47	49 & 56	Malabar Pepper	Agricultural	Kerala
48	50	Allahabad Surkha	Agricultural	Uttar Pradesh
49	52	Nakshi Kantha	Handicraft	West Bengal
50	60	Ganjifa card of Mysore	Handicraft	Karnataka
51	61	Navalgund Durries	Handicraft	Karnataka
52	62	Karnataka Bronze Ware	Handicraft	Karnataka
53	77	Molakalmuru Sarees	Handicraft	Karnataka
54	85	Monsooned Malabar Arabica Coffee	Agricultural	Karnataka
55	114	Monsooned Malabar Robusta Coffee	Agricultural	Karnataka
56	72	Spices – Alleppey Green Cardamom	Agricultural	Kerala
57	78	Coorg Green Cardamom	Agricultural	Karnataka
58	95	E. I. Leather	Manufactured	Tamil Nadu
59	94	Salem Silk known as Salem Venpattu	Handicraft	Tamil Nadu
60	93	Kovai Cora Cotton	Handicraft	Tamil Nadu
61	92	Arani Silk	Handicraft	Tamil Nadu
62	83	Bastar Dhokra	Handicraft	Chattisgarh
63	84	Bastar Wooden Craft	Handicraft	Chattisgarh
64	91	Nirmal Toys and Craft	Handicraft	Andhra Pradesh
65	59	Maddalam of Palakkad	Handicraft	Kerala
66	58	Screw Pine Craft of Kerala	Handicraft	Kerala
67	64	Swamimalai Bronze Icons	Handicraft	Tamil Nadu
68	82	Bastar Iron Craft	Handicraft	Chattisgarh
69	87	Konark Stone carving	Handicraft	Orissa
70	88	Orissa Pattachitra	Handicraft	Orissa
71	90	Machilipatnam Kalamkari	Handicraft	Andhra Pradesh
72	110	Eathomozhy Tall Coconut	Agricultural	Tamil Nadu
73	57	Brass Broidered Coconut Shell Crafts of Kerala	Handicraft	Kerala
74	66	Blue Pottery of Jaipur	Handicraft	Rajasthan
75	67	Molela Clay Work	Handicraft	Rajasthan
76	68	Kathputlis of Rajasthan	Handicraft	Rajasthan
77	97	Leather Toys of Indore	Handicraft	Madhya Pradesh
78	98	Bagh Prints of Madhya Pradesh	Handicraft	Madhya Pradesh
79	100	Sankheda Furniture	Handicraft	Gujarat
80	101	Agates of Cambay	Handicraft	Gujarat
81	102	Bell Metal Wareof Datiaand Tikamgarh	Handicraft	Madhya Pradesh
82	103	Kutch Embroidery	Handicraft	Gujarat
83	51	Kani Shawl	Handicraft	Jammu & Kashmir
84	79	Chamba Rumal	Handicraft	Himachal Pradesh
85	80	Dharwad Pedha	Foodstuff	Karnataka
86	81	Pokkali Rice	Agricultural	Kerala
87	86 & 108	Pipli Applique Work	Handicraft	Orissa
88	89	Buditi Bell & Brass Craft	Handicraft	Andhra Pradesh
89	96	Thanjavur Doll	Handicraft	Tamil Nadu
90	104	Santiniketan Leather Goods	Handicraft	West Bengal
91	105	Nirmal Furniture	Furnishings	Andhra Pradesh
92	106	Nirmal Paintings	Paintings	Andhra Pradesh
93	107	Andhra Pradesh Leather Puppetry	Handicraft	Andhra Pradesh
94	111	Laxman Bhog Mango	Agricultural	West Bengal
95	112	Khirsapati (Himsagar) Mango	Agricultural	West Bengal
96	113	Fazli Mango grown in the district of Maldla	Agricultural	West Bengal
97	46	Kashmir Pashmina	Handicraft	Jammu & Kashmir
98	48	Kashmir Sozani Craft	Handicraft	Jammu & Kashmir
99	109	Naga Mircha	Agricultural	Nagaland
100	116&117	Nilgiri(Orthodox) Logo	Agricultural	Tamil
101	115 & 118	Assam (Orthodox) Logo	Agricultural	Assam
102	119	Lucknow Chikan Craft	Handicraft	Uttar Pradesh
103	124	Virupakshi Hill Banana	Agricultural	Tamil Nadu
104	126	Sirumalai Hill Banana	Agricultural	Tamil Nadu
105	120	Feni	Manufactured	Goa
106	122	Uppada Jamdani Sarees	Handicraft	Andhra Pradesh
107	121	Tirupathi Laddu	Foodstuff	Andhra Pradesh
108	125	Mango Malihabadi Dusseheri	Agricultural	Uttar Pradesh
109	128	Puneri Pagadi	Handicraft	Maharashtra
110	99	Banras Brocades and Sarees	Handicraft	Uttar Pradesh
111	127	Tangaliya Shawl	Handicraft	Gujarat
112	130 & 141	Vazhakulam Pineapple	Agricultural	Kerala
113	131	Devanahalli Pomello	Agricultural	Karnataka
114	132	Appemidi Mango	Agricultural	Karnataka
115	133	Kamalapur Red Banana	Agricultural	Karnataka
116	138	Santipore Saree	Handicraft	West Bengal
117	144	Cannanore Home Furnishings	Furnishings	Handicraft
118	43	Peruvian Pisco	Manufactured	Peru
119	147	Sanganeri Hand Block Printing	Handicraft	Rajasthan
120	152	Balaramapuram Sarees and Fine Cotton Fabrics	Handicraft	Kerala
121	142	Bikaneri Bhujia	Agricultural	Rajasthan
122	143	Guntur Sannam Chilli	Agricultural	Andhra Pradesh
123	123	Nashik Valley Wine	Manufactured	Maharashtra
124	137	Gadwal Sarees	Handicraft	Andhra Pradesh
125	149	Kinnauri Shawl	Handicraft	Himachal Pradesh
126	170	Kasaragod Sarees	Handicraft	Kerala
127	179	Kuthampully Sarees	Handicraft	Kerala
128	134	Sandur Lambani	Handicraft	Karnataka
129	148	Handmade Carpet of Bhadohi	Handicraft	Uttar Pradesh
130	150 & 153	Paithani Sarees and Fabrics	Handicraft	Maharashtra
131	154	Mahabaleshwar Strawberry	Agricultural	Maharashtra
132	193	Hyderabad Haleem	Food Stuff	Andhra Pradesh
133	140	Champagne	Manufactured	France
134	146	Napa Valley	Manufactured	USA
135	163	Central Travancore Jaggery	Agricultural	Kerala
136	172	Champa Silk Saree and Fabrics	Handicraft	Chattisgarh
137	186	Wayanad Jeerakasala Rice	Agricultural	Kerala
138	187	Wayanad Gandhakasala Rice	Agricultural	Kerala
139	191	Kota Doria (Logo)	Handicraft	Rajasthan
140	165	Nashik Grapes	Agricultural	Maharashtra
141	171	Surat Zari Craft	Handicraft	Gujarat
142	190	Cheriyal Paintings	Paintings	Andhra Pradesh
143	194	Pembarthi Metal Craft	Handicraft	Andhra Pradesh
144	6	Payyannur Pavithra Ring	Handicraft	Kerala
145	27	Phulkari	Handicraft	Punjab, Haryana & Rajasthan
146	136	Khandua Saree and	Handicraft	Orissa
147	129	Byadagi Chilli	Agricultural	Karnataka
148	151	Scotch Whisky	Manufactured	United
149	164	Prosciutto di Parma	Foodstuff	Italy
150	183	Bagru hand Block Print	Handicraft	Rajasthan
151	189	Venkatagiri Sarees	Handicraft	Andhra Pradesh
152	185	Gir Kesar Mango	Agricultural	Gujarat
153	192	Bhalia Wheat	Agricultural	Gujarat
154	201	Villianur Terracotta Works	Handicraft	Pondicherry
155	202	Tirukanur Papier Mache Craft	Handicraft	Pondicherry
156	230	Cognac	Manufactured	France
157	174	Kachchh Shawls	Handicraft	Gujarat
158	199	Udupi Mattu Gulla Brinjal	Agricultural	Karnataka
159	173	Baluchari Saree	Handicraft	West Bengal
160	176	Dhaniakhali Saree	Handicraft	West Bengal
161	181	Kashmir Paper Machie	Handicraft	Jammu & Kashmir
162	182	Kashmir  Walnut Wood Carving	Handicraft	Jammu & Kashmir
163	203	Bobbile Veena	Handicraft	Andhra Pradesh
164	204	Khatamband	Handicraft	Jammu & Kashmir
165	213	Kinhal Toys	Handicraft	Karnataka
166	225	Chendamangalam Dhoti & Set Mundu	Handicraft	Kerala
167	226	Porto	Manufactured	Portugal
168	227	Douro	Manufactured	Portugal
169	167	Gopalpur Tussar Fabrics	Handicraft	Orissa
170	188	Siddipet Gollabama	Handicraft	Andhra Pradesh
171	228	Ganjam Kewda Rooh	Agricultural	Orissa
172	229	Ganjam Kewda Flower	Agricultural	Orissa
173	197	Maheshwar Sarees & Fabrics	Handicraft	Madhya Pradesh
174	207	Dhalapathar Parda & Fabrics	Handicraft	Orissa
175	208	Sambalpuri Bandha Saree & Fabrics	Handicraft	Orissa
176	217	Bomkai Saree & Fabrics	Handicraft	Orissa
177	219	Habaspuri Saree & Fabrics	Handicraft	Orissa
178	220	Berhampur Patta (Phoda Kumbha)  Saree & Jorda	Handicraft	Orissa
179	180	Bhagalpur Silk	Handicraft	Bihar
180	198	Mangalagiri Sarees and Fabrics	Handicraft	Andhra Pradesh
181	238	Madurai Malli	Agricultural	Tamil Nadu
182	243	Tequila	Manufactured	Mexico
183	195	"Pattamdai Pai (Pattamdai Mat)"	Handicraft	Tamil Nadu
184	196	“Nachiarkoil Kuthuvilakku (‘Nachiarkoil Lamp")	Handicraft	Tamil Nadu
185	200	Chettinad Kottan	Handicraft	Tamil
186	214	Narayanpet Handloom Sarees	Handicraft	Andhra Pradesh
187	135	Toda Embroidery	Handicraft	Tamil
188	209	Thanjavur Veenai	Handicraft	Tamil
189	211	Bangalore Blue Grapes	Agricultural	Karnataka
190	233	Agra Durrie	Handicraft	Uttar Pradesh
191	234	Farrukhabad Prints	Handicraft	Uttar Pradesh
192	236	Lucknow Zardozi	Handicraft	Uttar Pradesh
193	237	Banaras Borcades and Sarees (Logo)	Handicraft	Uttar Pradesh
194	205	Kalanamak Rice	Agricultural	Uttar Pradesh
195	232	Patan Patola	Handicraft	Gujarat

 

International Application for Trademark in India

International Application for Trademark in India – A perspective

Indian Government has shown some good steps in field of the Trademark, which has not only contributed in Global Presence of marks registered in India but also open door to make international application by Indian residents.

Before elaborating the steps of Indian Government, it is necessary to understand the international scenario for making international application for Trademark.

The system of international registration of marks is governed by the treaties:

1.      Paris Convention dated 20^th March, 1983

2.       Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks, which dates from 1891, and

3.      Protocol relating to the Madrid Agreement, which was adopted in 1989, entered into force on December 1, 1995, and came into operation on April 1, 1996.

India is one of the signatory countries to the Paris Convention administered by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO). India has become signatory of the Paris Convention as on 07^th December, 1998.

Further, on 8th July, 2013, the Madrid Protocol notified in India. Now, the person domiciled in India can file the international application with the WIPO.  Under the Madrid Protocol, a mark can be protected in many jurisdictions by filing an application for international registration. Such application is presented to the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization at Geneva, through the office of origin i.e. the trademark office of the applicant.

Madrid Protocol and it’s advantages

Indian businessperson can now mark its global presence under Madrid Protocol. Keeping in view the Indian scenario there are manifold advantages as follows:

(a) International Recognition:  Trademark Application  made under the Madrid Protocol will get recognition  and protection all over the  world and till date almost all the countries are the members to the Madrid Protocol.

(b) Expedient and Cost effective: An applicant, being Indian national, can electronically file and international application and through one application it can get it’s mark registered in various countries. Obviously the country will cover only those countries who are the member of the Madrid Agreement.

(c) Easy Process: Instead of filing application in each and every member country to the Protocol now a single application is required to be submitted. Further, the Madrid Protocol system is much easy and flexible.

(d) No need of different Trademark Attorney in Different Countries: As per the provisions of the Protocol, now, the Applicant of the Trademark can file the international Trademark through its Attorney in India only. There is no requirement to engage separate counsels in each and every country.

Lacunae in respect of System:

As of now, Indian general public is not much Intellectual Property savvy. In order to implement the system in effective manner the government needs to carry on the Intellectual Property awareness programs. It will disperse the knowledge about the Intellectual Property Rights among the people of India and they will become much conscious about the same.

Madrid Protocol is a very effective system, however, it is difficult to say that infrastructure of India  supports the Madrid System or not in effective manner. As of now there are already a large number of cases are pending before the IPR department and it takes a long-time in the registration of the same. Although due to the technological updation the department is disposing off the cases in much effective manner. But how the Indian Intellect will adopt this Protocol will be a good thing to observe.

Disclaimer: The contents mentioned above is based upon the individual analysis of the author. Author or any of its associates shall not be liable for any damages, of whatsoever in nature, caused due to any person acting solely on behalf of this article.

Copyright of Yogasana and Pranayama

Copyright of Yogasans and Pranyama

In Indian history yogasana and pranayama are deeply rooted and people are following the same for a long time. Delhi High Court in a recent judgment opined that the Pranayama and Pranic healings are not subjected to protection of copyright (Institute For Inner Studies & Ors. vs. Charlotte Anderson & Ors.)

In this case the subject matter was the protection of Pranic and Pranayama Technique obtained by the Plaintiff through research and experience. The Plaintiff raised the contention for protection of the Techniques under Copyright law and contended that the same are subject to copyright.

High Court set aside the protection over the technique on the grounds as follows:

1.       The first case which Hon’ble High Court sought is of US Supreme Court in Baker vs. Seldon, 101 U.S. 99 in the year 1880 in which the copyright issue were raised  for book keeping technique . The protection which is conferred by the copyright is the book containing the manner of the expression of the art and not the art described in the book. The Supreme Court of US had further noted that the novelty of the description of the process in the book is also immaterial as it is merely an assertion of the person seeking protection, the actual testing of the novelty in the subject matter is the domain of the patent office and not the copyright office.

2.       The next case to which Hon’ble High Court referred was of Feist Publications Inc Vs Rural Telephone Services Company, 499 U.S. 340 (1991) wherein the court was concerned with the question relating to the scope and the extent of protection of copyright in the compilation of pre-existing data in the form of telephone directory.

3.       The position of law starting from Baker (Supra) uptill Feist (Supra) remains the same and consistent when it comes to confer protection in relation to fact based works or the works which are derived from pre-existing data, scientific principles or arts which is to identify the limits of protection by finding out what is an idea in a given case and what is an expression by asking the question as to where the originality in copyright sense resides. The originality in copyright sense would mean the hard work, labour and skill extended truly by author in relation to creativity and not in relation to innovation done in respect of deriving some principle or method.

4.       Hon’ble High Court relied on the Court of Appeal in UK in the year 2007 in a case titled as Baigent & Leigh vs. The Random House Group Limited, (2007) FSR 24 which has also reiterated the similar principle by stating that though the historical research takes time, effort and skill to collect material for a book but the said time, skill and effort do not make the pre-existing facts in the history copyrightable and the only expression of an idea in the form of language in which work is composed along with selection arrangement and compilation of the research material is protected and not a historical research in itself.

5.       The overall effect of the elaborated discussion done above is that whenever the protection on the premise of copyright is sought for in relation to books and literature describing the useful art, principle, historical fact or events or mode of performing ancient exercise or any other process for that matter, the copyright protection shall vest in the language employed to describe in the art in the book, the selection and arrangement of the facts or Asanas and their presence in the sequential manner in the book wherein the hard work, skill, labour has been expended by the master in doing so and the reproduction right to this shall be available exclusively to the master or persons deriving title from him.

6.       The protection shall not be extended to include the monopoly right over the performance of the said Asanas of Yoga or Pranic Healing on the strength of the manner of the expression as stated in book as doing the same would be giving the monopoly right to the art or technique itself which is available in public domain from time immemorial which is also evident from the books available on record authored by Swami Ramachakra since 1906.

Please take note that  the content as published above is the extract of the judgment given by the Hon’ble High Court and is being summarised by the Author as per its own understanding and knowledge. The reader is advised to go through the original judgment delivered before getting any conclusion of whatsoever in nature. The authors do not intend to hurt any class of society and this article shall be taken only for the information purposes. The Author or any of its associate shall not be responsible for any damages occurred due to any person due to any action taken solely based on this Article. 

Magical Remedy and Drugs Act

In our daily life we always go through these kinds of misleading advertisement under which the person claims to provide remedy through any kavach or tabiz etc.

Directly or indirectly it is concerned with the sentiment of the person who is completely exhausted due to the struggle of life. Anyway, in reality there is a separate legislation which deals with such kind of false advertisements.

The Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954 prohibits any kind of misleading advertisement of any drugs or magical remedies which mislead the public at large. Certain provisions of the Act are as follows

1. ‘magic remedy’ includes a talisman, mantra, kavacha, and any other charm of any kind which is alleged to possess miraculous powers for or in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment or prevention of any disease in human beings or animals or for affecting or influencing in any way the structure or any organic function of the body of human beings or animals;

2.  The Act prohibits the Advertisement of Certain Drugs for Treatment of Certain Diseases and Disorders as:

a.  procurement of miscarriage in women or prevention of conception in women; or

b. the maintenance or improvement of the capacity of human beings for sexual pleasure; or

c.  the correction of menstrual disorder in women; or

d.  the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment or prevention of any disease, disorder or condition specified in the Schedule

3.      The act also prohibits the Misleading Advertisements Relating to Drugs.

4. Any person whoever contravenes any of the provisions of this Act [or the rules made there under] shall, on conviction, be punishable –

a. in the case of a first conviction, with imprisonment which may extend to six months, or with fine, or with both;

b. in the case of a subsequent conviction, with imprisonment which may extend to one year, or with fine, or with both.

Our legislation has provided us the numerous options to get rid of these types of person. Alas! rather than loving we fear god…. fear will keep the  people in existence….