In Context
- An application seeking a Geographical Indication (GI) tag for the Arunachal Pradesh Apatani textile product has been filed by Zeet Zeero Producer Company Limited.
About Apatani Textile Product
- The Apatani weave comes from the Apatani tribe of Arunachal Pradesh living at Ziro, the headquarters of Lower Subansiri district.
- The woven fabric of this tribe is known for its geometric and zigzag patterns and also for its angular designs.
- The Apatani community weaves its own textiles for various occasions, including rituals and cultural festivals.
- The tribe predominantly weaves shawls known as jig-Jiro and jilan or jackets called supuntarii.
- The traditional handloom of this tribe is a type of loin loom, which is called Chichin and is similar to the traditional handloom of the Nyishi tribe. It is portable, easy to install and operated by a single weaver, especially the female member of the community.
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Geographical Indication (GI) Certification
- GI is an indication used to identify goods having special characteristics originating from a definite geographical territory.
- It is used for agricultural, natural and manufactured goods.
- In India, Geographical Indications registration is administered by the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act of 1999.
- It is also a part of the World Trade Organisation’s Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).
- The Controller General of Patents, Designs and TradeMarks is the Registrar of Geographical Indications.
- The registration of a geographical indication is valid for a period of 10 years.
- It can be renewed from time to time for a further period of 10 years each.
- Benefits:
- It confers legal protection to Geographical Indications in India
- Prevents unauthorised use of a Registered Geographical Indication by others
- It provides legal protection to Indian Geographical Indications which in turn boost exports and also enables seeking legal protection in other WTO member countries
- It promotes the economic prosperity of producers of goods produced in a geographical territory.
- Some of the examples of Geographical Indications in India include basmati rice, Darjeeling tea, Kancheepuram silk saree, Nagpur orange and Kolhapuri chappal.
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Source: TH
