Recently Geographical Indication (GI) tagging has been in the news following Madhya Pradesh seeking GI tag for Basmati produced in 13 of its districts and the All India Rice Exporters Association (AIREA) opposing it as they felt it would harm India’s reputation in the world markets as the only country producing premium Basmati rice.
In 2018, India launched a logo and tagline for Geographical Indications (GI) to increase awareness about intellectual property rights (IPRs) in the country. Darjeeling and Banarsi Sarees are some of the world known Indian products that are GI tagged. Recently, Manipur’s famous Chak-hao black rice got a GI tag. Karnataka has the highest number of GI-tagged products. However, when geographical area is factored in, Kerala has the highest. A GI is registered for an initial period of ten years, which may be renewed from time to time. What is GI and how does it benefit the farmer? Below we look at some of the most Frequently Asked Questions about GIs.
What is a geographical indication?
A geographical indication (GI) is a sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin. In order to function as a GI, a sign must identify a product as originating in a given place. In addition, the qualities, characteristics or reputation of the product should be essentially due to the place of origin. Since the qualities depend on the geographical place of production, there is a clear link between the product and its original place of production. They not only provide a way for business to leverage the value of their geographically unique products, but also inform and attract consumers.
Gruyère cheese, Scotch, Porto, Havana, Tequila and Darjeeling are some well-known examples of names associated throughout the world with products of a certain nature and quality, known for their geographical origin and for having characteristics linked to that origin. Most commonly, a GI consists of the name of the place of origin of the good, such as “Jamaica Blue Mountain” or “Darjeeling”. But non-geographical names, such as “Vinho Verde”, “Cava” or “Argan Oil”, or symbols commonly associated with a place, can also constitute a GI.
What rights does a geographical indication provide?
A geographical indication right enables those who have the right to use the indication to prevent its use by a third party whose product does not conform to the applicable standards. For example, in the jurisdictions in which the Darjeeling geographical indication is protected, producers of Darjeeling tea can exclude use of the term “Darjeeling” for tea not grown in their tea gardens or not produced according to the standards set out in the code of practice for the geographical indication.
However, a protected geographical indication does not enable the holder to prevent someone from making a product using the same techniques as those set out in the standards for that indication. Protection for a geographical indication is usually obtained by acquiring a right over the sign that constitutes the indication.
How are geographical indications protected?
There are three main ways to protect a geographical indication:
- so-called sui generis systems (i.e. special regimes of protection);
- using collective or certification marks; and
- methods focusing on business practices, including administrative product approval schemes.
Broadly speaking geographical indications are protected in different countries and regional systems through a wide variety of approaches and often using a combination of two or more of the approaches outlined above. These approaches have been developed in accordance with different legal traditions and within a framework of individual historical and economic conditions.
Can geographical indications only be used for agricultural products?
Agricultural products typically have qualities that derive from their place of production and are influenced by specific local, geographical factors such as climate and soil. It is therefore not surprising that a majority of GIs throughout the world are applied to agricultural products, foodstuffs, wine and spirit drinks.
However, the use of GIs is not limited to agricultural products. A GI may also highlight specific qualities of a product that are due to human factors found in the product’s place of origin, such as specific manufacturing skills and traditions. That is the case, for instance, for handicrafts, which are generally handmade using local natural resources and usually embedded in the traditions of local communities.
What is the difference between a geographical indication and a trademark?
Geographical indications and trademarks are distinctive signs used to distinguish goods or services in the marketplace. Both convey information about the origin of a good or service, and enable consumers to associate a particular quality with a good or service. Trademarks identify a good or service as originating from a particular company. Geographical indications identify a good as originating from a particular place.
A trademark often consists of a fanciful or arbitrary sign that may be used by its owner or another person authorised to do so. A trademark can be assigned or licensed to anyone, anywhere in the world, because it is linked to a specific company and not to a particular place. In contrast, the sign used to denote a GI usually corresponds to the name of the place of origin of the good, or to the name by which the good is known in that place. A GI may be used by all persons who, in the area of origin, produce the good according to specified standards. However, because of its link with the place of origin, a GI cannot be assigned or licensed to someone outside that place or not belonging to the group of authorised producers.
What is the difference between a geographical indication and an appellation of origin?
Appellations of origin are a special kind of GI. The term is used in the Paris Convention and defined in the Lisbon Agreement.
This definition suggests that appellations of origin consist of the name of the product’s place of origin. However, it is interesting to note that a number of traditional indications that are not place names, but refer to a product in connection with a place, are protected as appellations of origin under the Lisbon Agreement (for example, Reblochon (cheese) and Vinho Verde (green wine)).
Appellations of origin and GIs both require a qualitative link between the product to which they refer and its place of origin. Both inform consumers about a product’s geographical origin and a quality or characteristic of the product linked to its place of origin. The basic difference between the two terms is that the link with the place of origin must be stronger in the case of an appellation of origin.
Developing a geographical indication – why?
Interest in GIs has thrived in recent years. The obligation, under the TRIPS Agreement, for Members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) to protect GIs has, to a large extent, triggered this attention. But beyond that, what creates the attraction? The short answer is that they are seen as useful tools in marketing strategies and public policies, for which there has been growing interest in the last two to three decades.
GIs as differentiation tools in marketing strategies: from mere source indicators to brands consumers pay increasing attention to the geographical origin of products, and care about specific characteristics present in the products they buy. In some cases, the “place of origin” suggests to consumers that the product will have a particular quality or characteristic that they may value. Often, consumers are prepared to pay more for such products. This has favoured the development of specific markets for products with certain characteristics linked to their place of origin.
Brand recognition is an essential aspect of marketing. GIs convey information about the origin-bound characteristics of a product. They therefore function as product differentiators on the market by enabling consumers to distinguish between products with geographical origin-based characteristics and others without those characteristics. GIs can thus be a key element in developing brands for quality-bound-to-origin products.
Geographical indications as a factor of rural development
A number of studies indicate that, under appropriate conditions, GIs can contribute to development in rural areas. The entitlement to use a GI generally lies with regional producers, and the added value generated by the GI accrues therefore to all such producers. Because GI products tend to generate a premium brand price, they contribute to local employment creation, which ultimately may help to prevent rural exodus.
In addition, GI products often have important spin-off effects, for example in the areas of tourism and gastronomy. Geographical indications may bring value to a region not only in terms of jobs and higher income, but also by promoting the region as a whole. In this regard, GIs may contribute to the creation of a “regional brand.”
A word of caution is, however, needed. The mere fact of developing a GI for a product does not guarantee automatic success or development for the region. For GIs to contribute to development, several conditions must be present in the region and in the way in which the specific GI scheme is designed.
Geographical indications as a means to preserve traditional knowledge (TK) and traditional cultural expressions (TCEs)
Products identified by a GI are often the result of traditional processes and knowledge carried forward by a community in a particular region from generation to generation. Similarly, some products identified by a GI may embody characteristic elements of the traditional artistic heritage developed in a given region, known as “traditional cultural expressions”.
GI protection recognises the cultural significance of TK and TCEs and can help preserve them for future generations. In addition, through the added value of a GI scheme, producers are less tempted to replace traditional processes by possibly less costly ones.
In India, for example, cheap powerloom-produced sarees are sold as highly-reputed “Banarsi” handloom sarees within and outside the Varanasi region (where authentic Banarsi sarees are produced). Powerloom imitations cost only one-tenth of the price of real handloom Banarsi sarees, thereby creating tough competition for local craftsmen and potentially causing the production of handloom sarees to become unsustainable, and the skills and knowledge involved in the technique to be lost.
GIs can provide protection for TK and TCEs against misleading and deceptive trading practices. They can also benefit indigenous communities by facilitating the commercial exploitation of TK and TCE and encouraging TK-based economic development. GIs provide indigenous communities with a means to differentiate their products and benefit from their commercialisation, thereby improving their economic position.
How long does it take to protect a geographical indication through registration?
Obtaining protection for a GI through registration of a sui generis right or a collective or certification mark is just one step in the process of establishing a GI scheme. The registration procedure, from application to grant, may itself take several months or even years, depending on the system concerned and on any obstacles to registration that may be found along the way.
Source: World Intellectual Property Rights Organization (WIPO)
