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Renewed bid to register basmati rice as a Geographical Indication

Joint move by India and Pakistan, two major producers, to help their farmers and exporters

FILE PHOTO

LOOKING FOR PROTECTION: The slender, long-grained fragrant rice is a delicacy much in demand in India and elsewhere.

INDIA IS making a renewed bid to get the `queen of rice' — basmati — registered as a geographical indication (GI) under the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act.

This time, however, the plan is to file an application with the Geographical Indications Registry for registering the famed basmati rice grown in Dehra Dun (Dehradooni Basmati) as a geographical indication. The move comes almost two years after an application filed with the Registry in August 2004 by the Heritage Trust in Haryana which has been bogged down in objections and procedural delays.

Joint study group

Following detailed discussions between the Commerce Secretaries of India and Pakistan in March this year, the two nations had agreed to form a joint study group to explore the possibility of a joint registration of basmati — the slender, long-grained, fragrant rice having a unique taste and grown in the Punjab region for centuries — as a geographical indication. The move also had the backing of the All India Rice Exporters Association and the Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan.

Though the WTO agreement on Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) says that two countries can apply together for registering a product or good as a GI under the "homonymous" provision, India and Pakistan have been unable to make any significant progress in this regard because of the complexities involved. Moreover, a product or good can claim protection under GI in another country only after securing protection first in the country of its origin.

"Given this scenario, I have asked those concerned to file an application with the Geographical Indications Registry for registering Dehra Dun Basmati as a GI. This way, it would be much easier to get a GI protection for basmati", Jairam Ramesh, Minister of State for Commerce, told The Hindu during a recent visit to Bangalore. The Minister visited the office of the GI Registry in Chennai on June 17 and held discussions with senior officials on ways to promote products by using GI as a branding tool.

A GI is defined as an indication which identifies a good as originating in the territory of a member country of the World Trade Organisation or a region or locality in that territory where a given quality, reputation or other characteristics of a product is essentially attributable to its geographical origin. It acts as an indication of source and protects the intangible assets in goods such as market differentiation, reputation and quality standards.

As per the Act, only an association of producers or an authority established under law can apply for GI registration. It is a "collective community right" and not an "individual right".

A GI certificate would have meant that only the rice grown in India and Pakistan would qualify to be called as `basmati' thus conferring legal protection to the product and safeguarding against its unauthorised use by other countries or producers besides eliminating unfair competition for the benefit of genuine producers and consumers.

A Commerce Ministry official said the process of registering basmati as a GI is being expedited by the Registry in view of its global significance, particularly after the U.S.-based RiceTec Inc. was granted the controversial patent in September 1997 on `Basmati Rice Grains and Lines'.

Further, basmati is a major exchange earner for India with exports touching 1.12 million tonnes in 2005, registering a growth of 45 per cent over the previous year. In value terms, exports rose to $596 million from $432 million.

Following India's challenge, RiceTec surrendered four claims and withdrew another 11 out of a total of 20 claims. Subsequently, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office prohibited RiceTec from using the term `basmati' and restricted the scope of the patent to three specific rice strains developed by the U.S. company that are unrelated to the varieties grown in India. But, with the integration of the world economy, the threat seems to be far from over, the official added.

P. Manoj

in Bangalore

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