Geographical Indication Filing Procedure in India
1. Geographical Indication Filing and Preliminary Examination
On receipt of the application, the Examiner/Authorized Officer scrutinizes the application and the accompanying Statement of Case as to whether it meets the requirements of the GI Act and the Rules.
2. Communication of deficiencies found in preliminary examination
- Deficiencies if any found through a preliminary examination are communicated by the Examiner/Authorized Officer to the Applicant or his Agent.
- If the Applicant fails to remedy the deficiencies within one month of the notification, the Application may be treated as abandoned.
- However, the Applicant may file a request of extension of time of One month by filing the appropriate form and by paying the prescribed fee.
- When the deficiencies are complied the Examiner/Authorized Officer shall submit the Application to the Registrar of GI for his consideration.
3. Examination of Application
- Upon compliance of the deficiencies, the Registrar ordinarily constitutes a Consultative Group of not more than seven representatives to ascertain the correctness of the particulars furnished in the Statement of Case while filing a GI application;
- The Applicant will be invited to make a detailed presentation before the Consultative Group to explain the Statement of Case;
- The Consultative Group ascertains the correctness of the particulars of Statement of Case and recommends for amendments, corrections or furnishing of further documents;
- The Group may visit the production area in order to further assess the correctness of the Statement of Case;
- The proceeding before the Consultative group will be ordinarily completed within three months from the date of constitution;
- There upon the Registrar shall consider the Geographical Indication Application on merits and based on observation /comments of Consultative Group, issues an Examination Report;
- The Examination Report may contain objections to the acceptance of the GI Application or proposal to accept it subject to such conditions, amendments, modification or limitations as the Register may think fit to impose;
- The Applicant shall within two months of the date of communication of Examination Report comply with proposals mentioned in the Examination Report or submit his observation or apply for a Hearing;
- If the applicant fails to amend his GI application or submit his observations in writing or fails to apply for a hearing or fails to attend the hearing, the application shall be dismissed;
- If the GI Application is found to be in order, the Registrar accepts the Application and publishes it in the ensuing GI Journal.
4. Acceptance
The Registrar may accept the GI Application absolutely or subject to such amendments, modification, conditions or limitations as he thinks fit.
The objections and/or proposal for conditional acceptance are communicated to the applicant.
5. Advertisement in GI Journal
The Registrar of GI publishes all the GI Applications and authorized user applications in the Official GI Journal.
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