Geographical Indicators & Protection of Plant Varieties-- By

7/31/2019 Geographical Indicators & Protection of Plant Varieties-- By

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GEOGRAPHICAL

INDICATIONS &PROTECTION OF PLANT

VARIETIESCompiled by

C.Sangeethalakshmi

07MSB116


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GEOGRAPHICALINDICATIONS


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EXAMPLES OF GIs

INDIA

Basmati rice

Darjeeling tea

Kanchipuram silksaree

Alphonsa mango

Nagpur orange Kolhapuri chappal

WORLD

Canadian whisky

Swiss watches

Florida oranges

Champagne

Tequilla

Kimchi New Zealand lamb


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CASE STUDY - INDIA


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BASMATI CASE STUDY

In late 1997, an Americancompany RiceTec Inc, wasgranted a patent by the USpatent office to call thearomatic rice grown outside

India 'Basmati'. RiceTec Inc, had been

trying to enter theinternational Basmatimarket with brands like'Kasmati' and 'Texmati'described as Basmati-typerice with minimal success.


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BASMATI CASE STUDY

However, with theBasmati patent rights,RiceTec will now be ableto not only call itsaromatic rice Basmatiwithin the US, but alsolabel it Basmati for itsexports.)

India and Pakistan will

not only lose out on the45,000 tonne US importmarket, which forms 10percent of the totalBasmati exports.


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BASMATI CASE STUDY

In addition, the patent onBasmati is believed to be aviolation of the fundamentalfact that the long grain

aromatic rice grown only inPunjab, Haryana, and UttarPradesh is called Basmati.."


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BASMATI CASE STUDY

Basmati rice means the "queen of fragrance or theperfumed one."

Grown in the foothills of the Himalayas for thousandsof years.

Perfumy, nut-like flavor and aroma. A long-grained rice with a fine texture Costliest rice in the world. Favored by emperors and praised by poets for

hundreds of years.

India is the second largest producer of rice afterChina, and grows over a tenth of the world's wheat.


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BASMATI CASE STUDY

In the abstract, "the invention relates to novel ricelines and to plants and grains of these lines . . . . .Specifically, one aspect of the invention relates tonovel rice lines whose plants are semi-dwarf in

stature, substantially photoperiod insensitive and highyielding, and produce rice grains havingcharacteristics similar or superior to those of goodquality Basmati rice. Another aspect of the inventionrelates to novel rice lines produced from novel ricelines . . . . "


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BASMATI CASE STUDY

According to Dr Vandana Shiva, director of a Delhi-based research foundation which monitors issuesinvolving patents and biopiracy,

Moreover, she claims the "theft involved in the

Basmati patent is, therefore, threefold:- a theft of collective intellectual and biodiversity

heritage on Indian farmers,- a theft from Indian traders and exporters whose

markets are being stolen by RiceTec Inc., and ,

- a deception of consumers since RiceTec is using astolen name Basmati for rice which is derived fromIndian rice but not grown in India, and hence not thesame quality."


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CONCLUSION - GIs

Need to protect TRADITIONALKNOWLEDGE.

Difficult to apply IP rights on cultureand cultural products.

Hence proper consolidation anddocumentation is necessary


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CONCLUSION - PVP

Ensures legal protection.

The PVPA protects sexually reproduced andtuber propagated plants.

The Plant Patent Act is limited to asexuallyreproduced plants, excluding tuberpropagated plants .

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Geographical Indicators & Protection of Plant Varieties-- By