Govt fails to introduce GI unit even in 11 yrs
The government legislated the geographical indications (GI) of goods (registration and protection) act in 2013 and the industrial design act in 2023, to recognise traditional goods of different localities across the country.
Both the laws stipulated formation of a separate GI unit to facilitate a smooth recognition process, and the authorities entrusted the industries ministry's department of patent, design and trademarks (DPDT) with the job. But there is no noticeable progress in the process till date.
It was learnt that the authorities could not appoint dedicated manpower to take care of the GI recognition process due to lack of a separate unit. The DPDT officials look after the process, in addition to their regular duties, which eventually resulted in sluggish process and complications in document management.
Aleya Khatun, director (administration and finance) of DPDT, said, “Lack of manpower is delaying the formation of a separate GI unit. Currently, the work is underway to introduce a separate unit. Hopefully, it will be possible to appoint necessary manpower there in a quick manner."
Recently, the recognition of Tangai Saree as India’s own GI product sparked a huge criticism in Bangladesh, prompting the authorities to take action. In a countermeasure, the Tangail district administration submitted an application for GI recognition of Tangail Saree on 6 February and the authorities accepted it immediately.
Bangladesh lags behind in recognising GI products, though it is crucial for the products' local and international business. India enacted its GI Act in 1999 and has since recognised 547 products, including 27 goods from West Bengal, like Darjeeling tea, the Sundarbans' honey and Nakshi Kantha.
On the flip side, Jamdani Saree was awarded GI status in November 2006, as the first product in Bangladesh. Since then, the DPDT has provided GI recognition to a total of 31 products in the country.
Fahmida Khatun, executive director of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), expressed fear that the others may snatch the intellectual property rights if Bangladesh fails to protect its own GI products.
“We would lose national culture, tradition, and market. It is a continuous process to provide GI recognition and carry out promotion campaigns and it requires a separate GI unit equipped with skilled manpower.”
In this regard, Aleya Khatun said there was a delay in manpower planning due to the Covid-19 pandemic and some other issues. However, they finally prepared a draft and submitted it to the industries ministry for approval.
The process of a separate GI unit will begin upon receiving approval from the industries and other concerned ministries, she added.