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An Indian entity's four-year-old bid to secure geographical indication (GI) status for basmati rice has failed. This has made the premium variety vulnerable to unauthorised use of its name and patent claims elsewhere.
A seven-member consultative group headed by V Ravi, the controller general of patents, design and trade marks, recently rejected an application for GI status for the rice variety filed by Karnal, Haryana-based Heritage Foundation in August 2004, citing flaws and lack of relevant data, said an official at the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
A GI is a product name associated with a certain region, and cannot be used by similar products from other regions. Champagne is one example of a GI. The controller general of patents, design and trade marks is part of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the issuing authority for GIs, which enjoy protection under the norms of the World Trade Organisation.
The Heritage Foundation is a trust mainly comprised of rice millers and exporters. Basmati, a slender, long-grained and fragrant variety of rice, is grown in Punjab and Haryana. The GI status would identify it globally as unique for qualities exclusively attributed to the place of its origin and confer legal protection against unauthorised use of the name by other rice producers.
It would also mean that only the variety grown in India can qualify to be called 'basmati'. Under the law, producers or inventors can claim patent protection in member-countries of WTO only if these are first protected in the country of origin.
Following the consultative group's decision, the Geographical Indications Registry in Chennai has issued a notice to the Heritage Foundation asking it to show cause why its application should not be rejected. The hearing on the notice will be held before Ravi, who is also the registrar of the Geographical Indications Registry. "There were discrepancies in the application filed by Heritage Foundation," the Commerce Ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said. (Source: Livemint.com)
July 23, 2008
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