Geographical indications: meaning, important Indian GIs and the 1999 Act

1. Meaning

Section 2(1)(e) of the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 defines a geographical indication, in relation to goods, as 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 characteristic of such goods is essentially attributable to its geographical origin. In the case of manufactured goods, one of the activities of production, processing or preparation must take place in that territory.

The Explanation adds that a name which is not itself the name of a place (such as “Basmati” or “Alphonso”) is also a GI if it relates to a specific area and is used for goods originating there.

• “Goods” means agricultural, natural or manufactured goods, goods of handicraft or of industry, and includes foodstuff (section 2(1)(f)). Services are not covered.
• “Indication” includes any name, geographical or figurative representation, or combination, conveying or suggesting geographical origin (section 2(1)(g)).

TRIPS Article 22 gives the international definition in almost the same words. The older terms are indication of source (any indication that goods come from a place, as in the Paris Convention) and appellation of origin (a stricter category under the Lisbon Agreement, 1958, where quality is due exclusively or essentially to the environment).

2. Scope and purpose

• Protects producers: the reputation of a region’s product is a collective asset built over generations; a GI prevents outsiders from free-riding on it.
• Protects consumers from goods falsely claiming a prestigious origin.
• Rural development and exports: GIs raise the price producers receive and help market goods abroad.
• Traditional knowledge: many Indian GIs are handicrafts and textiles made by traditional methods.
• Collective right: unlike a trade mark, a GI belongs to no single trader; every producer in the area who meets the standards may use it.

3. Important GIs of India

• Darjeeling Tea — the first GI registered in India (2004), held by the Tea Board.
• Agricultural: Basmati rice, Alphonso mango, Nagpur orange, Coorg orange, Malabar pepper, Coorg arabica coffee, Mysore betel leaf, Nanjanagud banana, Udupi mallige (jasmine).
• Handicrafts and textiles: Mysore silk, Kanchipuram silk, Ilkal sarees, Banarasi brocades, Pochampally ikat, Bidriware, Channapatna toys, Kashmir pashmina.
• Foodstuffs: Dharwad pedha, Tirupati laddu, Hyderabad haleem, Bikaneri bhujia, Rasgulla (Odisha and West Bengal each have one).
• Manufactured: Mysore sandal soap, Mysore agarbathi, Feni (Goa).

Two examples answer the note “any two registered GIs” well. Mysore Silk: pure mulberry silk woven in Karnataka, known for its sheen and use of real gold zari, registered in favour of Karnataka Silk Industries Corporation. Darjeeling Tea: grown in specified gardens of the Darjeeling hills at altitudes that give its muscatel flavour; the Tea Board certifies authentic tea and uses a logo also registered as a certification mark.

4. Salient features of the 1999 Act

• Enacted to meet India’s obligations under TRIPS; in force from 15 September 2003.
• Registrar and Registry. The Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks is the Registrar of GIs (section 3). The Geographical Indications Registry has its head office at Chennai (section 5).
• Register in two parts (section 7): Part A for the GIs and registered proprietors; Part B for authorised users.
• Registration by class of goods and definite area (section 8), following the international classification.
• Prohibited GIs (section 9): deceptive, contrary to law, scandalous or obscene, hurting religious susceptibilities, generic, or literally true but falsely suggesting another origin. Homonymous GIs may be registered if consumers will not be misled (section 10).
• Who may apply (section 11): an association of persons or producers, or an organisation or authority established by law, representing the interests of the producers.
• Opposition within three months of advertisement (section 14).
• Duration: ten years, renewable for ten years at a time (section 18).
• Rights (section 21): the registered proprietor and authorised users may sue for infringement; authorised users have the exclusive right to use the GI.
• Infringement (section 22), with additional protection for notified goods, which may not use another GI even with words like “kind”, “style” or “imitation” (section 22(2) and (3)).
• GI cannot be assigned, transmitted, licensed, pledged or mortgaged; an authorised user’s right passes on death to his successor (section 24).
• Relation to trade marks: refusal or invalidation of trade marks containing a GI (section 25) and protection of earlier good-faith marks (section 26).
• Offences (sections 38 to 54): applying a false GI, selling goods with a false GI — six months to three years and fine of fifty thousand to two lakh rupees.
• Appeals and rectification go to the High Court since the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021 (sections 27 and 31).

5. The Basmati case

In 1997 the United States Patent and Trademark Office granted the Texas company RiceTec Inc. a patent on “Basmati rice lines and grains”, with claims covering rice plants and grains having Basmati characteristics and the use of the word “Basmati” for rice grown outside the Indian subcontinent. India, through the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) and research bodies, sought re-examination in 2000, showing that such rice and its characteristics were long known. RiceTec withdrew most of the claims; in 2001 the patent was left with a few claims for three specific new varieties, and its title was changed so that it no longer referred to “Basmati”. The episode showed that India had no domestic GI protection to invoke and that traditional knowledge needed documentation.

Basmati was later registered as a GI in India in favour of APEDA (2016) for rice grown in the Indo-Gangetic plain in specified districts of seven States. Similar campaigns succeeded against a US patent on wound-healing use of turmeric (revoked in 1997 after a challenge by CSIR) and a European patent on neem (revoked in 2000), and led to the Traditional Knowledge Digital Library.

How this is examined

January 2026 and February 2025 both asked for the “salient features” of the 1999 Act; February 2025 also asked to “Define geographical indications”; January 2026 set a note on “any two registered GIs of India”; August 2024 asked “Explain the protections available for geographical indications in India” and a note on the “Basmati rice case”. Section 4 is the answer to salient features; begin it with the definition from section 1. For “protections available”, combine section 4 with the next two notes on registration and infringement.