Imphal, September 19, 2009: Banaras sarees and brocades, renowned for intricate designs of silk and gold threads, will now be protected as a Geographical Indication under Geographical Indication of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999. This means that no saree or brocade made outside the six identified districts of Uttar Pradesh can be legally sold under the name of Banaras saree and brocade.

According to a press release made available to Hueiyen Lanpao by Executive Secretary of United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), India team, Ms Ratika Bhanot, Chennai based Geographical Indication Registry, the competent authority under Government of India, has issued the GI certificate for Banaras saree on September 4, 2009. The GI certificate would help genuine producers to legally counter increasing threats from sarees produced in other regions and countries, but sold in India under the tag of Banaras saree.

GIs can also be commercially leveraged for enhancing incomes of weavers, while providing assurance of product quality to consumers.

The press release further informed that the GI certificate has not only recognised uniqueness and distinct identity of Banaras sarees, but also of related products such as silk brocades, dress material, bed and table covers manufactured in the traditional manner by weavers in Varanasi, Azamgarh, Chandauli, Jaunpur, Mirzapur and Sant Ravi Dass Nagar - Bhadohi.

The application seeking GI registration of these products was filed by Banaras Bunkar Samiti, Human Welfare Association, Joint Director of Industries, and six other organizations on July 4, 2007. Subsequently the GI Registry undertook a rigorous process of scrutiny to ascertain the unique properties and reputation of Banars sarees and brocades and their link with the area of production in Uttar Pradesh.

With suitable marketing initiatives, the GI certificate can commercially benefit lakhs of weavers, traders and exporters of Banaras sarees and brocades.

DFID-supported UNCTAD's India project worked closely with the weaver community through its partners - Textiles Committee, a statutory body under Government of India and Human Welfare Association, Varanasi.

The project and its partners supported the weavers and artisans in seeking GI certificate of Banaras sarees and brocades.

This was done through awareness building campaigns, community mobilization and technical assistance for preparing the GI application.

This is the fifth product which has received GI certificate as a result of UNCTAD project's interventions.

Similar initiatives under the project have helped weavers and artisans to receive GI certificates for Pipli Applique work of Orissa, Lucknow Chikan Craft, Uppada Jamdani Sarees of Andhra Pradesh and Cannanore Home furnishing.

Geographical Indication (GI) is an Intellectual Property Right (IPR) which identifies a goods as originating in a certain region where a given quality, reputation or other characteristic of the product is essentially attributable to its geographical origin.

Geographical indications are different from other intellectual property like copyrights and trademarks.

While copyrights and trademarks are monopoly private intellectual property rights, GIs are publicly owned by the artisans/ producers of the concerned product.

Producers of similar products in other geographical regions are excluded from using the GI tag.

The protection accorded through GIs seeks to prevent illegitimate entities from free riding on the reputation of the protected product.

Most producers and artisans of traditional and unique products in India lack the resources for seeking GI registration.

Left to themselves, the artisans and farmers would not be able to take advantage of legal protection under GI.

UNCTAD's India project is implementing a comprehensive initiative aimed at assisting resource poor artisans, weavers and farmers to seek GI registration of their unique products.

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