TAGGING GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS (GI)

 Intellectual property refers to the creations of human mind like inventions, innovation s,literary and artistic works,symbols images and designs used in trade and commerce etc.Intellectual property rights is broadly divided into two.1. Industrial property comprising of patents, trade marks Industrial designs and Geographical Indications and 2.Copy Rights comprising of literary  and artistic woks like novels  poems, plays, films musics,paintings, photographs, sculptures, performing arts,computer programing  etc. Geographical Indications (GI) refers to the products that sign or identifies as originating from a specific geographical area and possessing a given quality, reputation or similar characteristics that is essentially attributed to the geographical origin.Trade Mark is different from GI. While the owner of a Trade Mark is entitled to exclude others from using the Trade mark ,a GI  merely tells that the product is produced in a particular place with certain  characteristics due to the place of production. Hence main function of the GI is to indicate the connection between that quality characteristics of reputation of such goods and it's territory of origin.At the global level such internationally acclaimed GI tagged products include Cafe de Colombia (Colombia), Bordeaux (France), Scotch whisky (UK),Kampot pepper (Combodia) etc

In India, Darjeeling Tea received the first GI tag In 2004-2005.The GI tag is increasingly used for agricultural or food products which are normally linked to nature and the place of origin . However in the manufacturing sector the specific qualities of such products are derived from traditional manufacturing skills of combining local know how and natural resources like in Klim Carpets(Turkey) or Swiss Watches (Switzerland).As per World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) data available from national and regional authorities showed there were an estimated 58400 AI tags were in existence in 2022 of which upper middle income economies accounted for 46.3%followed by lower middle income economies 10.6% . Europe accounted for 53.1% followed by Asia 36.3% Latin America 4.3% . In 2022 China had highest share of GI registered 9571, followed by Hungary 7843 Germany 7386, Bulgaria 5991, Moldova 4602 as against India 429 and Brazil only 109 in 2022 .In India the Geographical Indications Registry with the main objective of providing the registration and protection of geographical indications to goods came into force on September 15 2003 and the GI Registry is located at  Chennai b.,As on June 7,2023 there are 500 GI tags in India across states. As on March 31st 2022 total number of GI applications filed  is 861 as against total Registered is 420. GI tag represents a particular region and products and brings it to the public. .For instance GI tag to Nagpur orange reportedly helped farmers, whereas similar tag to Tirupathi Laddu increased its fame.Any trader's  body, association or organisation can apply for GI tag provided they prove the uniqueness of the item with historical records and a complete breakdown of the product is made.Every GI tag recognizes a particular region and products and brings out it to the public. Among the reported 500 GI tags  in India, there are 34 classes of products that are eligible for GI tags- from  chemicals and paints to food stuffs, handicrafts, musical instruments and even firearms and locations. 

Every state in India has atleast one GI tag proxy for unique cultural richness.  Tamil Nadu has the highest number of GI tag like Kanchipuram Sarees,Dindigul locks,Kandangi Sarees,Srivilliputtur Palkova.Thanjavur dolls, Coimbatore wet Grinder, Tanjore paintings,etc. Tamil Nadu is followed by Uttar Pradesh  with 56 tags including leather and footwear from Agra,Saddles from Kanpur Traditional embroidery art form of Chikan Kari from Luknow.Karnataka which got GI tag for 48 products  with renowned items like Mysore betel leaf,Mysore jasmine, Mysore sandal soap,Mysore paintings,handicrafts and agricultural products. Kerala's GI products include Aranmullah Kannadi,Allepy Coir Navara rice, Palakkadan Matta,Malabar pepper, MalabarArabica coffee, Malabar Robusta coffee,Allepey Green Cardamom Pokkali rice, kuthanpully sarees,Balaramapuram Sarees etc. GI tags in Maharashtra include Solapur Chaddar,Puneri paradi,,Kolhapuri chappal,Kolhapuri jaggery, Nashik grapes,Waigon Turmeric,Bhiwapur chilli,Karvath Kati Sarees and fabrics etc.Infact every part of earth is significant with geographical indications quality, method and reputation of a product originate from strictly defined land area specified in intellectual property right registration.While some places are identified by their traditional arts some are famous for their traditional method handed over from previous generation to next

In a sense GI tag provided the framework for Protected Designation of Origin(PDO) and Traditional Specialities Guaranteed (TSG).The purpose of GI is to ensure popular product name with respective region ,to show the relation between product and geographical area, to retain the name of respective region with the manufactured products or goods  and to enrich the identity of the product with respective location. It increases  the sustainability of local production of food and other entity, to enable origin community to receive a higher retail price benefit percentage and  to restrict duplication of the product  to ensure and to maintain quality of the product for consumers. To a great extent GI also promote tourism industry with the help of Geographical indicated products, to preserve the natural resources and environmental sustainability .Hence GI if effectively utilized  can protect the environment, preserves tradition and traditional knowledge and grow regional economy. Moreover in recent times spurt in tourism activities both domestic and international along with thrust in heritage tourism and  infrastructure development projects not only provided opportunities to boost trade of existing GI tagged products but also encouraged to  take measures by other entrepreneurs to register new GI tagged products . Ultimately the fame and popularity of individual GI tagged products counts more than the number of GI products registered.