CGI212 | Law Of Geographical Indications

The course aims to introduce students to the debates surrounding geographical indications (GI) and the developments pertaining to their legal protection in both international and domestic levels, specifically with a South Asian focus.

The first part of the course would examine the international legal framework governing GI and the hotly contested and largely unresolved negotiations between the EU and USA over the last three decades over issues surrounding cheese and wines. Against this peculiar backdrop involving a North-North debate as opposed to the typical North-South debate that is common in intellectual property discourse, the second part of the course would move on to explore the usage of GI, particularly in India and a select few South Asian countries as a tool for protection of traditional knowledge, preservation of culture and rural development. In doing so, the course would aim to critically assess, through a comparative analysis of the domestic laws and relevant literature, whether GI protection effectively translates to socio-economic development of the actual producers of GI goods.