Thursday, December 10, 2009

Three types of Kerala rice get GI protection

New Delhi, Dec 7 : Three varieties of rice producedin Kerala are registered as Geographical Indications (GI), theParliament was informed today.

Three kinds of rice -- Pokkali, Navara and PalakkadanMatta -- produced in Kerala have been registered as GIs underthe Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration andProtection) Act, 1999, Minister of State for Commerce andIndustry Jyotiraditya Scindia said in the Lok Sabha.

The GI tag is used on goods that have a specificgeographical origin and possess qualities, reputation andcharacteristics that are essentially attributable to thatregion alone.

Once granted, the GI status legally prohibits others tosell the product under the same name.

Replying to a question of a Member of Parliament, Scindiasaid the Union government has not received any proposal fromthe Madhya Pradesh government for registration of paddy of aspecial variety under the GI.

Answering a separate question in the lower house, Scindiasaid, the country's Patent Offices received 458 applicationsfor pre-grant opposition--for other parties to contest theexclusivity claims of the product--during January 2005 toMarch 2009.

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