Under the Section 2 (e) of the G.I.

Act, 1999
“Geographical Indication, in relation to goods, means an indication which identifies such
goods as agricultural goods, natural goods or manufactured goods as originating, or
manufactured in the territory of a country, or a region or locality in that territory, where a
given quality, reputation or other characteristics of such goods is essentially attributable to its
geographical origin and in a case where such goods are manufactured goods one of the
activities of either the production or of processing or preparation of the goods concerned
takes place in such territory, region or locality, as the case may be.”

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’.

History
Why G.I. Act, 1999 got introduced in India?

Under the TRIPS (Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property), countries do not have a
mandatory obligation to protect a geographical indication if that geographical indication is
not covered within the country of its origin.

Moreover, India did not have any laws before 1999 related to geographical indication
which could protect the interest of the producers of G.I. goods.

So, what made India introduce the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and
Protection) Act, 1999?
It was due to three controversial cases related to Neem, Turmeric, and Basmati.

1.Azadirachta Indica is the botanical name of the neem tree and the tree is referenced in
Indian old texts for more than 2000 years ago and has been connected for centuries in
agriculture as an insect and pest repellent, veterinary medicine, cosmetics and toiletries.
Neem extracts can be used against hundreds of pests and fungal diseases that attack food
crops; the oil extracted from its seeds can be used to cure cold and flu also mixed in soap, it
provides relief from skin diseases, malaria and meningitis as well. IN1994, European Patent
Office (EPO) granted a patent to the US Corporation W.R. Grace Company and US
Department of Agriculture for a method for controlling fungi on plants by the aid of
hydrophobic extracted Neem oil. In 1995, a group of international NGOs and representatives
of Indian farmers filed legal opposition against the patent. They submitted evidence that the
fungicidal effect of extracts of Neem seeds had been known and used for centuries in Indian
agriculture to protect crops, and therefore, were un patentable. In 1999, the EPO determined
that according to the evidence all features of the present claim were disclosed to the public
prior to the patent application and the patent was not considered to involve an inventive step.
In May 2000 EPO revoked the patent which was granted for neem.

2. In March 1995, in the case of turmeric, a US Patent was granted to two NRI’s for
turmeric to be used as a wound-healing agent. CSIR opposed this Patent at the USPTO based
on “Prior Art”, it claimed that turmeric had been used for thousand years for treating wounds
and rashes in India, and hence it was not a new invention. CSIR showed an antique Sanskrit
manuscript and a paper published in 1953 in the Indian Medical Association Journal as
documentary evidence. The U.S. patent office upheld the objections and cancelled the Patent.

3. In the case of basmati, a US Patent granted to Texas-based Rice Tec Inc claimed that
their invention is related to a new breed of rice plants and grains. The USPTO approved the
Patent on “Basmati Rice Line and Grains” in 1997. After three years of examination and
accepted 20 claims put forward by Rice Tec Inc., India opposed the Patent and challenged it.
A team of agricultural scientists presented various proofs and supporting information to
establish prior art in this area in India. Evidence against the claim was so strong that the
company withdrew 15 claims, and only five claims out of 20 claims of the company RiceTec
Inc. survived Indian challenges. The patent granted to new hybrid variants that have nothing
to do with basmati.

Geographical Indication Act, 1999

After these three cases, the Indian government, to prevent unfair exploitation, realised the
importance of having comprehensive legislation for the registration and providing adequate
legal protection to geographical indications.
The Parliament enacted the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and
Protection) Act, 1999, which came into power with effect from 15th September 2003.
The present G.I. is governed by the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration &
Protection) Act, 1999, and the Geographical Indication of Goods (Regulation and Protection)
Rules, 2002.

Objectives of the G.I. Act,1999

The objectives of the G.I. Act 1999 is threefold,

1.It is to prohibit unauthorized persons from misusing geographical indications and to protect
consumers from deception,
2.Particular law governing the geographical indication of goods in India which could well
enough to cover the concern of yielders of such goods,
3.To encourage and promote exports of the goods bearing India Geographical Indication.

Geographical Indication registration

Section 8 of the G.I. Act gives that a Geographical Indication may be registered regarding
any or all of the goods, included in such types of goods as may be listed by the registrar.
Moreover, regarding a particular area of a country, or a region or locality in that territory,
as the case may be.
According to the prescribed manner, the registrar may also classify the goods according to
the international division of goods to register geographical indications and publish in an
alphabetical index of various goods.

Who can apply for G.I.?

Any union of persons or producers or any organisation or authority established by or under

any law expressing the concern of the producers of the concerned goods can apply for
registration of a geographical indication.
The ‘Producer’ means in G.I. Act –
Anyone who provides the goods in case agricultural goods and involves the person who
prepares or packages such goods.
 Anyone who utilises the goods in case of natural goods.
 Anyone who creates or produces the handiwork or manufactured goods.
 Anyone who purchases or trades in such production, exploitation, building or
manufacturing of the goods.

Duration of registration

The validity of a registered geographical indication is ten years and can be renewed from
time to time on payment of the renewal fee.

Prohibition of registration of certain Geographical Indications

For registration, the G.I. must fall within the extent of the definition of the expression
“geographical indication” as provided under Section 2 (1) (e) of the
G.I. Act. In addition, such a G.I. should not fall in the purview of prohibiting acts contained
in Section 9, which are as follows:

 The use of which will likely to deceive or confuse; or

 The use of which will be opposed to any law which is in the force at that time; or
 Which includes or contains disreputable or offensive matter; or
 Which constitutes or contains any element likely to hurt the religious sensitivities of
any group or community of the citizens of India; or
 Which will contrarily be disentitled to safeguard in a court; or
 Which are confirmed to be nonexclusive names or indications of goods and are,
hence, not or discontinued to be guarded in their country of origin, or which have come into
disuse in that country; or
 Which, although belongs to another territory, region or locality in which the goods
originate, but dishonestly represent to the persons that the goods originate in another territory,
area or locality, whatever the case may be.

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.
Conclusion
 India is still an agricultural economy even though the GDP contribution of the
agricultural sector is about 18 per cent. However, approximately 60 per cent of India’s
population still works in the agricultural industry. That is why having a law like the G.I. act,
1999 and making it even stricter and better is crucial to protect farmers’ rights and prevent
farmers and workers that work in the agricultural sector.