The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 (Act No. 48 of 1999) is India’s principal legislation for the registration and protection of geographical indications relating to goods. It establishes the Geographical Indications Registry, sets out the procedure for registration and opposition, defines the rights conferred by registration and the scope of infringement, and provides for offences, penalties and rectification of the register.
CHAPTER I — PRELIMINARY
CHAPTER II — THE REGISTER AND CONDITIONS FOR REGISTRATION
- Section 3 — Registrar of Geographical Indications
- Section 4 — Power of Registrar to withdraw or transfer cases, etc.
- Section 5 — Geographical Indications Registry and offices thereof
- Section 6 — Register of Geographical Indications
- Section 7 — Part A and Part B of the register
- Section 8 — Registration to be in respect of particular goods and area
- Section 9 — Prohibition of registration of certain geographical indications
- Section 10 — Registration of homonymous geographical indications
CHAPTER III — PROCEDURE FOR AND DURATION OF REGISTRATION
- Section 11 — Application for registration
- Section 12 — Withdrawal of acceptance
- Section 13 — Advertisement of application
- Section 14 — Opposition to registration
- Section 15 — Correction and amendment
- Section 16 — Registration
- Section 17 — Application for registration as authorised user
- Section 18 — Duration, renewal, removal and restoration of registration
- Section 19 — Effect of removal from register for failure to pay fee for renewal
CHAPTER IV — EFFECT OF REGISTRATION
- Section 20 — No action for infringement of unregistered geographical indication
- Section 21 — Rights conferred by registration
- Section 22 — Infringement of registered geographical indications
- Section 23 — Registration to be prima facie evidence of validity
- Section 24 — Prohibition of assignment or transmission, etc.
CHAPTER V — SPECIAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO TRADE MARKS AND PRIOR USERS
- Section 25 — Prohibition of registration of geographical indication as trade mark
- Section 26 — Protection to certain trade marks
CHAPTER VI — RECTIFICATION AND CORRECTION OF THE REGISTER
- Section 27 — Power to cancel or vary registration and to rectify the register
- Section 28 — Correction of register
- Section 29 — Alteration of registered geographical indications
- Section 30 — Adaptation of entries in register to amend or substitute classification of goods
CHAPTER VII — APPEALS
- Section 31 — Appeals to the High Court
- Section 32 — [Omitted]
- Section 33 — [Omitted]
- Section 34 — Procedure for application for rectification, etc., before High Court
- Section 35 — Appearance of Registrar in legal proceedings
- Section 36 — [Omitted]
CHAPTER VIII — OFFENCES, PENALTIES AND PROCEDURE
- Section 37 — Meaning of applying geographical indications
- Section 37A — Adjudication of penalties
- Section 37B — Appeal
- Section 38 — Falsifying and falsely applying geographical indications
- Section 39 — Penalty for applying false geographical indications
- Section 40 — Penalty for selling goods to which false geographical indication is applied
- Section 41 — Enhanced penalty on second or subsequent conviction
- Section 42 — Penalty for falsely representing a geographical indication as registered
- Section 43 — [Omitted]
- Section 44 — [Omitted]
- Section 45 — No offence in certain cases
- Section 46 — Forfeiture of goods
- Section 47 — Exemption of certain persons employed in ordinary course of business
- Section 48 — Procedure where invalidity of registration is pleaded by the accused
- Section 49 — Offences by companies
- Section 50 — Cognizance of certain offences and the powers of police officer for search and seizure
- Section 51 — Costs of defence of prosecution
- Section 52 — Limitation of prosecution
- Section 53 — Information as to commission of offence
- Section 54 — Punishment for abetment in India of acts done out of India
CHAPTER IX — MISCELLANEOUS
- Section 55 — Protection of action taken in good faith
- Section 56 — Certain persons to be public servants
- Section 57 — Stay of proceedings where the validity of registration of the geographical indication is questioned etc.
- Section 58 — Application for rectification of register to be made to High Court in certain cases
- Section 59 — Implied warranty on sale of indicated goods
- Section 60 — Powers of Registrar
- Section 61 — Exercise of discretionary power by Registrar
- Section 62 — Evidence before Registrar
- Section 63 — Death of party to a proceeding
- Section 64 — Extension of time
- Section 65 — Abandonment
- Section 66 — Suit for infringement, etc., to be instituted before district court
- Section 67 — Relief in suit for infringement or for passing off
- Section 68 — Authorised user to be impleaded in certain proceedings
- Section 69 — Evidence of entries in register, etc., and things done by the Registrar
- Section 70 — Registrar and other officers not compellable to produce register, etc.
- Section 71 — Power to require goods to show indication of origin
- Section 72 — Certificate of validity
- Section 73 — Groundless threats of legal proceedings
- Section 74 — Address for service
- Section 75 — Trade usages, etc., to be taken into consideration
- Section 76 — Agents
- Section 77 — Indexes
- Section 78 — Documents open to public inspection
- Section 79 — Reports of Registrar to be placed before Parliament
- Section 80 — Fees and surcharge
- Section 81 — Savings in respect of certain matters in Chapter VIII
- Section 82 — Declaration as to title of geographical indication not registrable under the Registration Act, 1908
- Section 83 — Government to be bound
- Section 84 — Special provisions relating to applications for registration from citizens of convention countries
- Section 85 — Provision as to reciprocity
- Section 86 — Powers of Central Government to remove difficulties
- Section 87 — Power to make rules
Note: The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 (Act No. 48 of 1999) received assent and was brought into force on 15 September 2003. It has been amended by the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021 (which replaced the Intellectual Property Appellate Board’s appellate role with direct appeals to the High Court) and the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023 (which decriminalised certain offences, including substituting a monetary penalty regime for section 42 and omitting sections 43 and 44).
