Risk over GI of national emblems, other common products

In the wake of India's recognition of the Tangail Saree as its own Geographical Indication (GI) product, concerns have escalated over protecting some national emblems and common products of Bangladesh, including the national flower, Water Lily, and the national fruit, Jackfruit.

Economists, experts, GI specialists, and activists underscored the need for swift initiatives to secure GI certificates for the emblematic products and those with shared prevalence and names in both countries.

In this regard, the reluctance of concerned government offices is noticeable.

The recognition of Tangail Saree in India triggered a huge outcry on social media and prompted the district administration of Tangail to hastily apply for the GI of the traditional handloom saree on 6 February.

The Department of Patents, Designs, and Trademarks, which operates under the industries ministry, approved the application immediately and forwarded it to the government press for printing in a gazette. Later, the authorities issued the gazette with GI certification of the Tangail Saree on 8 February.

As per the law, the GI status will be secured if there are no objections in the next two months.

There are some similar places and products in both Bangladesh and West Bengal of India. Among them, some eight products – Fazli Mango, Malda Lakshan Bhog Mango, Malda Khirshapati, Nakshi Kantha, Banglar Rosogolla, Upadha Jamdani, Garad Saree, and Sundarbans’ natural honey – have already received GI status in India, despite their extensive existence in Bangladesh.

India is yet to provide GI status to some more products that prevail in both countries, including Water Lily, Jackfruit, Sundarbans’ Golpata, Sundari Tree, different species of fish, tea, and jute.

Rajeev Ahmed, a GI researcher and former president of the E-Commerce Association of Bangladesh (ECAB), said, “Products like Water Lily, Jackfruit, or Jute are recognised as our national emblem as well as our national pride. It will be a great embarrassment for us if Bangladesh fails to secure GI status for these products earlier.”

Bangladesh enacted a GI law in 2013 and provided the first GI status to Jamdani. Some 11 products received GI status in the following 10 years, including 10 products in 2023 alone.

The E-Commerce Development Centre (EDC) played a crucial role in securing GI certification for the 10 products in the previous year. When the district administration and other government offices were insincere in the process, the EDC members voluntarily worked to secure GI status for the products.

The situation remained quite similar even after the Indian recognition of the Tangail Saree.

A major inconsistency for the Tangail Saree is that there is no place called Tangail in West Bengal. But the Indian state has two districts called Uttar Dinajpur and Dinajpur, and they are known for producing Lychee, like the Bangladeshi district of Dinajpur.

The Lychee of Dinajpur in Bangladesh is yet to receive GI certification. If India manages to provide GI status to the fruit, it will be really tough for Bangladesh to deal with the issue given the existence of Dinajpur district in West Bengal.

Shakil Ahmed, deputy commissioner (DC) of Dinajpur, said, “It is undoubtedly an important issue. We have already completed some work for the GI application. It will be submitted soon.”

India has provided GI status to the Sundarbans’ honey, but there are some more common products in the mangrove forest without GI status. There is no noticeable initiative in Bangladesh to secure ownership of the products by recognising them as its GI product, ahead of India.

Satkhira is a district adjacent to the Sundarbans, but the district administration here did not apply for GI status of any products. Satkhira DC Humayun Kabir said, “The Sundarbans fall under three districts. We are considering a concerted initiative over GI.”

Contacted, Khulna DC Yasir Arefin said they work as per instructions from the high-ups. “Against the current situation, we have to prepare for the GI application under our own initiative.”

Touhidul Islam, a law department professor at Dhaka University, made three suggestions for the government.

Firstly, Bangladesh can enact a joint ownership act for the products prevailing in both countries. Secondly, the common products can be registered for GI status under bilateral and regional agreements. Thirdly, Bangladesh may sign the Lisbon Agreement to protect shared products and preserve the local product's identity.

None of Bangladesh and India is a signatory to the Lisbon Agreement. However, the government here needs to amend the prevailing GI law if it wants to make a deal on joint ownership, said the intellectual property law expert.

*This story first appeared in the print version of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten in English by Misbahul Haque