India’s handloom sector occupies a significant place within the country’s geographical indication (GI) framework. Since the first Indian GI was registered in 2004, 236 GIs had been registered with the GI Registry of India as at April 2015. Of these, more than half (64 per cent) are handicrafts, more than one fourth (26 per cent) are agricultural products, and the remainder are food and manufacturing products. Given India’s extensive tradition of handloom weaving and textile craft, the predominance of handicraft registrations reflects the natural configuration of the country’s creative and artisanal output.<\/p>\n
Of the 236 products registered as GIs till April 2015, approximately 50 can be identified as handloom products. These include Kashmir Pashmina and Kani shawl (Jammu and Kashmir), Kullu shawl (Himachal Pradesh), Kota Doria (Rajasthan), Tangalia and Kachchh shawls (Gujarat), Paithani saree (Maharashtra), Ilkal saree (Karnataka), Balaramapuram saree and fine cotton fabrics (Kerala), Kancheepuram Silk (Tamil Nadu), Gadwal saree (Telangana), Pochampally Ikat and Uppada Jamdani saree (Andhra Pradesh), Gopalpur Tussar fabric and Bomkai saree (Odisha), Baluchari saree (West Bengal), Shaphee Lanphee (Manipur), Banarasi brocade and saree (Uttar Pradesh), Chanderi fabric (Madhya Pradesh) and Kosa silk (Chhattisgarh). This list reflects the regional diversity of India’s handloom tradition.<\/p>\n
1. Kancheepuram Silk<\/strong> was applied for by the Department of Handloom and Textile and registered on 17th March, 2005 under Class 24 (Textile Goods) and Class 25 (Clothing including sarees and rumal). Kancheepuram is a traditional centre of silk weaving and handloom industry, and has been producing Kancheepuram sarees since the late 18th century. The sarees are hand woven with dyed silk yarn and feature interlaced designs characteristic of the Kancheepuram tradition.<\/p>\n 2. Orissa Patachitra<\/strong> was registered as a GI on 9th<\/sup> April 2007 under Class 24 and Class 16 (wall hangings made of textile and paintings). The registered proprietor and applicant is Orissa State Cooperative Handicrafts Corporation Limited. The word “Pattachitra” derives from the Sanskrit “patta” (a painted piece of cloth or plate) and “chitra” (painting or picture). These brilliantly coloured works were historically produced at Puri as souvenirs for pilgrims to the Jaganath temple, with themes drawn from incidents in Krishna’s life, the avatars of Vishnu, and the epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata.<\/p>\n 3. Muga Silk<\/strong> is a registered GI from the state of Assam. The Patent Information Centre of the Assam Science Technology and Environment Council (ASTEC) secured registration for Muga in 2006, making it the first registered GI from the north-eastern region. While ASTEC is the registered proprietor, there were no registered users at the time of the registration. In the present day, Muga silk constitutes the state’s most popular export product after Assam tea.<\/p>\n 4. Phulkari<\/strong> \u2014 Punjab Small Scale Industries and Export Corporation Limited (PSIEC) applied for registration of Phulkari in March 2005. It was registered as a GI in 2011 under Class 26 (Textile), though an opposition was filed by a Mumbai resident claiming the registration would affect those earning a livelihood from this work outside Punjab. “Phulkari” means “flower working” or “flower embroidery” and traces its origins to the 15th century. It is a traditional embroidery characterised by intricate geometric or floral designs with harmonious colour combinations, and has historical significance in Punjabi folklore.<\/p>\n 5. Banaras Brocades and Sarees<\/strong> secured registration under the GI Act in September 2009, with the application filed on July 4, 2007 by nine organisations: Banaras Bunkar Samiti, Human Welfare Association (HWA), Joint Director Industries (eastern zone), Director of Handlooms and Textiles Uttar Pradesh Handloom Fabrics Marketing Cooperative Federation, Eastern UP Exporters Association (EUPEA), Banarasi Vastra Udyog Sangh, Banaras Hath Kargha Vikas Samiti, and Adarsh Silk Bunkar Sahkari Samiti. The application was filed under Classes 23, 24, 25 and 26. The principal centres of brocade weaving are at Varanasi, Azamgarh, Mirzapur, Bhadohi (Sant Ravidas Nagar), Chandoli, Chunar and Chakia.<\/p>\n GI holders have limited rights in that there are no assignment rights, but the rights may be held in perpetuity as long as the product-place link is maintained. GIs also contribute to keeping traditional knowledge in the public domain, though only registered users may employ that knowledge to produce the GI-registered goods. The GI framework offers producers of traditional handloom products a mechanism to protect authenticity, limit unfair competition from products made outside the designated region, and preserve regional heritage.<\/p>\n This article is for general information and does not constitute legal advice. Readers should consult a qualified attorney before acting on any matter discussed here.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This post explores the evolution of intellectual property rights in India with a focus on handloom and handicraft products registered as geographical indications. It provides an objective review of the legal framework and cultural significance of these protected goods.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":48,"footnotes":""},"categories":[185,6],"tags":[639,257,7437,7436,29,7439,7438],"class_list":["post-26830","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-geographical-indications-gi","category-intellectual-property","tag-geographical-indications","tag-gi-registration","tag-handicrafts","tag-handloom","tag-india","tag-legal-protection","tag-textiles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bananaip.com\/intellepedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26830","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bananaip.com\/intellepedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bananaip.com\/intellepedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bananaip.com\/intellepedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bananaip.com\/intellepedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26830"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.bananaip.com\/intellepedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26830\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":149880,"href":"https:\/\/www.bananaip.com\/intellepedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26830\/revisions\/149880"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bananaip.com\/intellepedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26830"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bananaip.com\/intellepedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26830"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bananaip.com\/intellepedia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26830"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Legal Character of GI Rights and Their Significance<\/h2>\n
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