Economic Highlights
New Delhi, 20 November 2017
Bitter War
On Sweet Rosogolla
INDIA NEEDS TO BE WATCHFUL
By Shivaji Sarkar
It is great news for West Bengal. It has won
the paternity of India’s savoured sweet dish rosogolla’s geographical indication (GI). It might mean little for the
rest of the country but could open up a war on the international arena marked
by trade related intellectual property rights (TRIPS), patents and GI.
Now it is to be seen how Bengal can lead the
move to create an international rosogolla
market with the new tag. This would require an aggressive campaign to sell
the newly authenticated dish.
Undoubtedly, that is the positive aspect of a
simple tug of war between Bengal and Odisha, which claims rosogolla originated therein at the Central Government’s patent
office. Countering this Bengal went to the Chennai-based GI registry to prove
the delicious sweet belongs to it and was invented by a famous sweetmeat seller
Nabin Chandra Das in 1868.
Pertinently, vacuum-canned rosogollas are exported across the globe
from Kolkata, Nagpur and some even from Nepal. It earns millions of precious dollars
given that export growth otherwise is stagnated in a critical world situation.
Certainly, there are many other dishes across
the country which have and can claim such GI status. Karnataka’s Dharwar pedha,
Andra Pradesh’s Tirupathi laddu, Rajasthan’s Bikaneri bhujia,
Hyderabada Haleel, Bengal’s Joynagar moa and Madya Pradesh’s Ratlami sev
have the GI tag.
Now, as some other countries have started
selling their tea as Darjeeling tea, the GI tagging of Darjeeling and Kangra
tea as agricultural products have saved the Indian brands.
Besides, many agricultural products including 79 farm items
have got this tag which includes Basmati rice, chillies, orange/
mandarin types like Nagpur, Coorg, Khasi and Arunachal, a variety of bananas,
spices, Tripura’s pineapple and Madurai malli
jasmine. Add to this Kolhapuri chappals, Kashmiri pashmina, Pochampalli
saris which too have the GI tag.
Does having the tag help? Yes, as it aids in maintaining
the brand and locational value. An example: The quality of Dehradun basmati rice and what Pakistan claims as
basmati is different. The aroma is
not the same and the confusion was hitting Indian exports. Hence, the GI label
helps keep the ownership as under WTO and TRIPS the member nations have respect
for geographical indications.
However, the basmati war is on and after much negotiations India and Pakistan have
decided to get a joint GI for the fine-grained aromatic rice. Recall, the talks
came to a halt after the 26/11 attack in Mumbai. Now Bangladesh also wants to
share the tag. Meanwhile, some countries like Philippines are selling their
rice as basmati in the EU and US
despite the fact that this rice is native to the Indian sub-continent.
Notably, measures have been taken to prevent
violation of GI rights wherein the custom authorities have powers to seize
bogus products. If a product enjoys GI status in a member nation, then no other
member nation can grant a trade mark for any other product of similar nature.
Even Indian haldi (turmeric) said to
have special therapeutic properties has benefited. A variety of haldi from
Kandhamal in Odisha has got a separate GI for its properties even as the State’s
battle for rosogolla continues.
The GI prevents counterfeiting and protects
the original producers’ market. For example, Darjeeling tea has got GI under
Indian law. So if someone inside the country sells fake Darjeeling tea, he could
be jailed or fined. But if a Sri Lankan company fakes Darjeeling tea and
exports to Germany nothing can be done in India. For this a separate petition
has to be filed in Germany or the Central Government has to pursue it through
the WTO. To prevent such problem, a fresh move has to be made for GI status
European Union’s office for “Protected GI” (PGI).
Moreover, there is another problem. Once a GI
is granted by a country, the WTO informs all member nations. But this has not
been given the status of a registry. So it is treated as information but has no
legal status.
Additionally, multilateral registry is still
not in vogue. Thus, getting a GI in one country is not automatically protected
across the world. Presently, multilateral registry is being insisted by the EU
as it would save duplication of efforts. However, China and Hong Kong want this
system to be compulsory for only those countries that agree to participate in
it.
Further, countries which are faking products
are opposing one-registration across the world. As it helps these nations export
their products under false identity and rake in profits. To prevent them or
make them liable for legal offence numerous registrations have to be done. This
is expensive and a time-consuming cumbersome process. The counterfeiters
benefit for this legal loophole.
Conversely, lobbies of different products are
resorting to different methods. The powerful European wine and liquor business
groups have managed to get WTO to negotiate for multilateral GI register for
wine and liquor. This has helped them save their brands and even penetrated
sales across the world, including India.
Importantly, GI rights are given to an
association of persons, producers, organisation as a community right. The
concept is that such indications are not build up by one individual but by a
community of persons. So the community, in the case of Bengal’s rosogolla is protected.
Indeed, if a sari made somewhere else is sought to be sold as Banarasi, it would
not only be considered a violation of GI but also considered punishable in
India. But for any other country a separate process has to be adopted.
Certainly, there is an apprehension that
powerful nations or lobbies can create fake identifications. If such are
granted registration, it could create a chaos in the world trade system. Think.
India had to fight in the US to get neem
patents deregistered after a prolonged legal battle. Even on various
agricultural issues the Doha agreement has yet to be agreed upon.
Similarly there is yet no unanimity of
non-agricultural market acess (NAMA). There has also not been any agreement on
a free market for the labour. Add to this another lacuna in the system. A GI is
not a one-time achievement. It is valid for ten years and has to be renewed
after that.
In sum, notwithstanding WTO and globalization
the world is at war in the trade front. A nation has to be innovative and
aggressive to save their brands to rake in the maximum profit. India has the
advantage that its various scientific organisations like the CSIR, science and
technology department, industry, handicraft and agriculture are continuously
making efforts to protect our heritage and cultural specifications.
Remember, this war will not end soon. The one
who remains alert will win it. ---- INFA
(Copyright, India
News & Feature Alliance)
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