Geographical Indications: Registration, Effect and International Protection

1. What a geographical indication is

Section 2(1)(e) of the Act defines a geographical indication, in relation to goods, as an indication which identifies agricultural, natural 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 the goods is essentially attributable to its geographical origin. For manufactured goods, one of the activities of production, processing or preparation must take place in that territory. The definition follows TRIPS Article 22(1).

A GI differs from a trade mark: a trade mark identifies one trader; a GI identifies a place and is collective, available to every producer in the region who meets the standards. It cannot be assigned, transmitted, licensed or mortgaged, and a GI cannot be registered as a trade mark by someone outside the region.

2. What cannot be registered (section 9)

Indications that would deceive or confuse; whose use would be contrary to law; that contain scandalous or obscene matter or matter likely to hurt religious susceptibilities; that would otherwise be disentitled to protection in a court; that have become generic (the common name of the goods in India); or that are not protected, or have ceased to be protected, in their country of origin. A homonymous GI (same name, different place) can be registered only if it does not mislead consumers about true origin.

3. Registration procedure

1. Applicant. Any association of persons or producers, or any organisation or authority established by law, representing the interests of the producers of the goods, may apply (section 11). An individual producer cannot apply as proprietor; he registers later as an authorised user.
2. Application to the Registrar of Geographical Indications at the GI Registry, Chennai, stating how the GI serves to designate the goods as originating from the territory; the class of goods; the territory, with a map; the particulars of the special characteristics and of the standards; the producers; and an inspection body to monitor quality.
3. Preliminary scrutiny and examination, including reference to a consultative group of experts who check the claimed link between quality and origin.
4. Acceptance, absolute or conditional, or refusal with reasons. Refusal can be challenged on appeal to the High Court since the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021 abolished the IPAB.
5. Advertisement in the GI Journal (section 13).
6. Opposition by any person, within the prescribed period after advertisement (section 14), followed by counter-statement, evidence and hearing.
7. Registration (section 16) and issue of a certificate; the GI is entered in Part A of the register.
8. Authorised users (section 17): any producer of the goods in the territory may apply to be registered as an authorised user in Part B, after the GI itself is registered.
9. Term (section 18): ten years, renewable for further periods of ten years indefinitely. Authorised-user registration also runs for ten years or until the GI’s own registration expires.

Darjeeling Tea was the first GI registered in India (2004). The register now includes goods from textiles (Kanchipuram silk, Mysore silk) and food (Tirupati laddu, Bikaneri bhujia) to handicrafts (Channapatna toys) and agricultural produce (Coorg orange, basmati).

4. Effect of registration

• No action for unregistered GIs. No person can sue for infringement of an unregistered GI (section 20(1)), but the right to sue for passing off is saved (section 20(2)).
• Rights conferred (section 21): registration gives the registered proprietor and the authorised users the right to obtain relief for infringement, and gives the authorised users the exclusive right to use the GI in relation to the goods. The rights are exercised collectively; one authorised user cannot stop another.
• Infringement (section 22): a person who is not an authorised user infringes if he uses the GI in a way that indicates or suggests that the goods originate elsewhere than their true place of origin so as to mislead; or uses it in a way that is an act of unfair competition, including passing off; or uses another GI which, though literally true as to place, falsely represents that the goods originate in the territory of the registered GI.
• Additional protection (section 22(2)): the Central Government may notify goods (wines and spirits under TRIPS Article 23, and any others) for which use is prohibited even with words such as “kind”, “type”, “style” or “imitation” and even with the true origin indicated.
• Prima facie evidence of validity; bar on assignment (section 24); bar on registering a GI as a trade mark by non-producers (section 25), with protection for trade marks applied for or registered in good faith before the GI.
• Offences: falsifying a GI and selling goods to which a false GI is applied are criminal offences, with enhanced penalties for repeat offenders.

5. TRIPS Articles 22 to 24

• Article 22: standard protection for all GIs: members must provide legal means to prevent misleading use and acts of unfair competition, and refuse or invalidate misleading trade marks.
• Article 23: additional protection for wines and spirits, without any need to show that the public is misled.
• Article 24: exceptions (prior continuous use, generic terms, good-faith trade marks) and a commitment to negotiate further. India, with other developing countries, has long argued in the WTO for extending Article 23 protection to all products, for basmati, Darjeeling and handicrafts.

6. The Lisbon and Madrid instruments

Lisbon Agreement (1958) for the Protection of Appellations of Origin and their International Registration, revised by the Geneva Act (2015), which extended it to GIs and allowed the EU to join. India is not a party.

“Madrid Agreement” may mean either of two instruments; an answer should say so and cover both:

1. The Madrid Agreement for the Repression of False or Deceptive Indications of Source on Goods (1891). It requires seizure on importation of goods bearing a false or deceptive indication that a member country or a place in it is the country or place of origin, and forbids treating regional appellations for products of the vine as generic. It is the earliest multilateral GI-related instrument but has few members; India is not one.
2. The Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks (1891) and its Protocol (1989), now administered together as the Madrid System. One international application at WIPO, based on a home application or registration, designates many members. India joined the Protocol in 2013; Chapter IVA of the Trade Marks Act, 1999 implements it. The Madrid system protects trade marks, including collective and certification marks, which are an alternative route for protecting regional names abroad.

7. Critique

• Registration has run ahead of enforcement: many registered GIs have few authorised users and no working inspection body.
• Section 22 is tied to goods; services and domain names are poorly covered.
• Protection abroad is the real need, and India lacks bilateral or Lisbon routes. The EU’s 2023 regulation on craft and industrial GIs opens a route for Indian handicrafts.

How this is examined

The registration question needs the procedure in nine steps with sections. Effect of registration should list sections 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 and 25 with the Darjeeling case. For “Madrid Agreement”, explain both instruments briefly and India’s position on each.