On 17 October 2023 and 27 October 2023 respectively, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry of India published in the Official Gazette and on its website the Goods Geographical Indications (Registration and Protection) (Amendment) Bill 2023, amending the Goods Geographical Indications (Registration and Protection) Regulations 2002 (the "2002 Regulations") (" 2023 Bill ").
Indian IP professionals gave a brief interpretation of the draft and made further suggestions.
The Department amended the table in the current Schedule to the 2002 Ordinance, which provided for the fee structure under section 10 (1) of the original Ordinance. The revised regulations mainly reduce the fees for filing several forms stipulated in the original regulations. This mainly relates to issues relating to the submission of a geographical indication application, registration as an authorized user and the granting of additional protection for goods.
For intellectual property professionals in India, the publication of the 2023 Bill is a welcome move as it may encourage more entities to apply for geographical indication protection. However, the larger issues relating to the protection of geographical indications in India need to be addressed through amendments to the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act 1999 (the Geographical Indications Act 1999), which should also be aligned with the proposed amendments to the Regulations 2002.
First, the Geographical Indications Act 1999 should ensure that producers participate in an informed consultation process prior to filing an application, so that they are aligned with the body that is filing an application for a geographical indication. This will help producers to understand the benefits of GI registration, thereby enhancing their willingness to cooperate in the post-GI registration protection mechanism.
Secondly, the Geographical Indications Act 1999 should incorporate a multi-layer inspection system and a penalty mechanism for quality control failures to ensure that quality control provisions are made for goods under registered geographical indications.
Thirdly, the law must include provisions for the transfer or transfer of geographical indications from a registered entity to another entity in order to accommodate cases where the registered owner is no longer able to manage the registered geographical indications.
As the fourth amendment, the professionals recommended the omission of the provisions on the registration of authorized users, which had become a financial and procedural burden on the registry of authorized users and geographical indications, particularly affecting geographical indications with a high number of users, such as basmati rice.
The register of geographical indications is a public register that defines the characteristics of a registered geographical indication and can be used as a record to verify whether a specific product has a legitimate qualification for the protection of geographical indications. All persons who meet the specifications listed in the register should naturally have the right to use the registered geographical indication without having to formally register themselves as an authorized user.
In addition, the owner of the registered geographical indication may allow the management of the list of authorized users, rather than only being managed by the Geographical Indication Registry. It would also give them the right to take legal remedies against unauthorized users and expand the scope of criminal protection currently limited to authorized users.
According to professionals, these proposals to the Geographical Indications Act 1999 will fill the gap in the GIS conservation ecosystem in India and will provide comprehensive protection not only for registered gis, but also for all relevant stakeholders. (Compiled from www.asiaiplaw.com)