With the impeccable support given by GI Registry, India, GMGC had the opportunity to attend The National Seminar and Workshop on Stakeholder of Geographical Indication held on 18th and 19th Sep. 2008 in Delhi at “Intercontinental The Grand” which primarily laid focus on sustainable development achieved by “Intellectual Property Protection through Geographical Indication”. Students, Government officials, social activists, R&D Scientists, Law firms, Producers participated in the seminar. India is considered as having the richest culture ,be it, foodstuffs, textiles, headgears, plant varieties, foot wares, etc which is integrated by specialised skills involved. These skills and culture are ought to be protected as they form a part of Intellectual Property Rights. Benefits of a product registered as a Geographical Indication are three fold: 1. International Recognition Thus this largely boosts the economy of the country and also creates employment opportunities. As compared to the immense benefits through GI protection, the awareness among the masses is very scarce. The seminar organised by the GI Registry under Commerce Ministry intensely discussed the above issues and solutions were suggested by imminent dignitaries present. It laid emphasis on the promotion of Geographical Indication (which is considered as a Intellectual Property) among the common masses so as to augment or boost the number of GI applications. In furtherance of this vision or supplementing to this object GMGC complied a research on 17 products including Nashik Grapes, Kolhapuri Chappal, Goa Cashewnuts, Mahabaleshwar Strawberry, Paithani Saree, etc which were exhibited in the seminar with the help of our research teams which included Advocate, Law students and producers who were 132 in number. It proved to be a unique and energetic experience for GMGC with all the teams rigorously engaged in extracting information about the concerned products from the producers and concerned authorities which is a daunting task. Our intention is to further make individual applications of the referred products. We appreciate the efforts of GI registry in successfully organising this seminar at the same time lending support and encouragement to GMGC . |
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Workshop