The Hindu Business Line : Bill to change Apeda Act to protect trade mark interests

New Delhi, Dec. 24 India’s case for safeguarding its specified agricultural and processed food products such as basmati rice, Darjeeling tea or Alfonso mango – which have been increasingly challenged by other countries – would get a real booster dose once the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (Amendment) Bill introduced in the just-ended Parliament session gets into the statute.

The Union Minister of State for Commerce and Power, Mr Jairam Ramesh, who piloted the amendment bill to the Apeda Act 1985, told Business Line that several attempts had been made in the past by dubious trading elements to obtain intellectual property rights by filing applications for registration of trademarks or grant of patents in the case of basmati rice. He said Apeda had come across 300 such instances of infringement of rights in the name of basmati in as many as 47 countries. He said 76 of these spurious cases had been clinched in India’s favour so far.

Basmati tussle

He said Apeda has been entrusted with the promotion of export of basmati rice as a non-scheduled product for several years before it became a Scheduled product in March 2008. Considering the experience of Apeda in monitoring the production aspects of basmati rice for purposes of exports, promotion of its exports and handling the patent and trade mark infringement cases abroad, it is proposed to vest Apeda with statutory authority to apply, register, own and protect the GI for basmati rice.

Mr Ramesh said recently Basmati Growers Association, Lahore, won a trademark right from the Registrar of Trademark, Karachi, to allow the registration of trade mark “basmati” in Pakistan, while rejecting the contention of Apeda and a few others. However, an appeal filed by Apeda against this order has been subsequently admitted, the Minister said adding that the lack of an enabling provision in the Apeda Act, a flaw which the Amendment Bill seeks to set right, might hamper its actions to seek and protect the IPRs in basmati.

Mr Ramesh said Apeda has filed an application I the Geographical Indication Registry on November 26 for registration of GI in basmati rice and the GI region encompassing erstwhile Punjab – Punjab (entire State), Haryana (entire State), Himachal Pradesh (entire State) and Delhi (entire State), besides Uttrakhand (entire State) and a major part of Uttar Pradesh and Jammu and Kathua.

Joint registration

Even as India is contesting Lahore Basmati Rice Producers’ cornering the trade mark right on Basmati in Pakistan, New Delhi has been in discussion with Pakistan for a joint registration of GI for basmati as this would best serve the common interests of the two countries and preclude any conflict of interest in defending basmati GI in third countries. He said two rounds of meeting were held the latest one was in Islamabad on November 7-8 where it was resolved that both the countries should cooperate in defending third party infringements. He said the discussions would continue and suggested that both India and Pakistan should declare 2009 “A year of Basmati” to sensitise their joint bid for protecting Basmati’s GI status.

Mr Ramesh said so far as many as 104 products in India had got the GI status, with the first being Darjeeling Tea and the 100th being the Nilgris orthodox tea. He said India’s basmati exports in 2007-08 fetched Rs 4,334 crore. Now that the definitional change on basmati includes evolved basmati varieties such as Pusa 1121, this variety would easily fetch Rs 1,000 crore, making India’s exports of basmati rice above Rs 5,000 crore, he added.

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