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Geographical Indication (GI) Tag

Mysore Sandal Soap and Sandalwood Oil

The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 (GI Act) provides legal protection to goods that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or reputation attributable to that origin. It implements India's obligations under the TRIPS Agreement (Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) under the WTO framework.

Key details

KSDL obtained the GI tag for Mysore Sandal Soap and Mysore Sandalwood Oil in 2006 — one of the early registered GIs in India.
The GI Act, 1999 came into effect from September 15, 2003.
Under the Act, a GI is registered for an initial period of 10 years, renewable indefinitely.
A GI tag prevents unauthorised use of the product name by producers outside the designated region.
The Act defines Geographical Indication under Section 2(1)(e) as identifying goods as originating from a territory where a given quality, reputation, or characteristic is essentially attributable to that geographical origin.
India's GI registry is maintained by the Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
Notable GI products from Karnataka: Mysore Silk, Mysore Sandal Soap, Coorg Orange, Kodagu Honey, Mysore Rosewood Inlay, and Bidriware.