Thick lassies , golden-brown kulchas , tender fish pakodas and tangy chickpeas; Amritsar has sired many legendary dishes. Now, after Phulkari — Punjab’s traditional embroidery — won the geographical indications (GI) tag under the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (Trips) Agreement of the WTO, a move is afoot to get GI certification for the rich Amritsari cuisine, comprising Amritsari Fish, Kulche Chhole and Tandoori Chicken.

Amritsar’s cuisine is linked to the very foundation of the city when the first eateries mushroomed around the Golden Temple and the sweet-water tank called amrit sar (pool of nectar).

The North Zone Cultural Centre (NZCC) in Patiala is now trying to register various items on Amritsar’s traditional platter as a GI produce of Amritsar. This is to ensure that when a foodie orders Amritsari Fish in Mumbai or Amritsari Kulche Chhole in Delhi or any other city, he gets the real thing.

In 2011, after a five-year legal battle, Phulkari was awarded GI status in India, which means that only registered traders and manufacturers from Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan would be able to use the term for the traditional craft, and the patent information centre of the Punjab State Council for Science and Technology would issue a logo or hologram to distinguish the product.

The NZCC would start filing applications for registration of Punjabi food items from Amritsar under GI and then cover other cities having their rich cuisine such as sag,makki-di-roti and so on.

Stamp of originality

Geographical indications are place names used to identify the origin and quality, reputation or other characteristics of products (Champagne, Tequila or Roquefort). GIs of goods are recognised as a type of intellectual property right (IPR). GIs are included as IPRs under the Trips Agreement of the WTO, and the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (India is a party to both).

While many specialty Indian products have historically enjoyed worldwide recognition, India’s proactive stance towards their statutory protection through GIs is fairly recent, and the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration & Protection) Act, 1999 (in force since September 2003), marks a milestone.

GI can take the form of words, phrases, symbols or iconic emblems. They may or may not include the name of the place or region. Iconic place-specific GIs such as the appellations Swiss chocolate, Scotch whisky and Darjeeling tea exist alongside equally well-recognised GIs such as basmati rice that do not indicate a region.

A unique indicator

The GI Act has led to the establishment of a GI Registry at Chennai, overseen by the controller general of patents, designs and trademarks of India. Registration under the GI Act is valid for a period of 10 years, after which it is required to be renewed.

Once a GI is registered in India, it becomes relatively easier to seek its protection in other countries. As the statutory protection to GIs in India is still relatively new, it is likely that various unaddressed issues will be discovered that may require the Indian law to be enhanced.

Till date, producers of close to 208 regional specialties have registered with the Indian GI registry, including the producers of Darjeeling tea, Kancheepuram silk, Mysore silk, Chanderi saris, Mysore sandalwood oil and Bidriware.

It remains to be seen to what extent the Indian GI law is successful in protecting India’s popular traditional products in the international market.

Vasudeva is the author of World Trade Organisation: Implications for Indian Economy

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