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11 J. World Intell. Prop. 321 (2008)
From Plant Variety Definition to Geographical Indication Protection: A Search for the Link Between Basmati Rice and India/Pakistan

handle is hein.journals/jwip11 and id is 321 raw text is: The Journal of World Intellectual Property (2008) Vol. 11, no. 4, pp. 321-344 do: 10.11 11/j.1747-1796.2008.00341.x From Plant Variety Definition to Geographical Indication Protection: A Search for the Link Between Basmati Rice and India/Pakistan Delphine Marie-Vivien CIRAD, UMR Innovation Geographical indications (GIs) deal with local issues. Their protection generates an original scheme of governance. GIs were first protected in France and they were later harmonised in the European Union (EU) and then included in the TRIPS Agreement, which was the basis for the enactment of the GI Act in India and GI protection in Pakistan. The Basmati rice example will illustrate the different objectives of GI protection in these two countries and in Europe. Europe is an emerging market for Basmati, and therefore the EU is setting rules of importation based on its tradition of food quality. Such an increase in exports of Basmati raises the issue of a protection that is efficient in the international market, but still is adapted to Indian and Pakistani needs. On the one hand, Basmati has been defined for a long time as the name of plant varieties which now includes evolved varieties. On the other hand, Basmati is still not yet registered as a GI, because the concept of GI is a very recent development in India and Pakistan. The Basmati case raises general issues for GIs protection worldwide: tradition versus modernity, product definition versus method of production and geographical environment. Keywords geographical indications; Basmati; India-Pakistan-EU; plant variety Geographical indications (GIs), identifying goods where a given quality, reputation or other characteristic of the good is essentially attributable to its geographical origin, are remarkably different from other instruments of intellectual property rights. As GIs deal with local issues, their protection generates an original scheme of governance. Contrary to other intellectual property laws, GIs are less homogenized in the international legal framework. GIs are related to two sets of policies: (1) policies related to consumer protection through repression of frauds and unfair competition; and (2) policies related to rural development and revival of traditional knowledge and traditional genetic resources. Different legal approaches on GIs reflect the relationship within each country with their own traditions and heritage and correspond to different periods of implementation of their legal framework. GIs were first protected in France as an appellation of origin in the beginning of the twentieth century. They were later harmonized in the European Union (EU) and then included in the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS') of the World Trade Organization (WTO). © 2008 The Author. Journal Compilation © 2008 Blackwell Publishing Ltd 321

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