DPIIT Publishes: Draft Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) (Amendment) Rules

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has released the Draft Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) (Amendment) Rules, 2023, for public review. The draft introduces changes to the fee structure for certain applications and requests under the Geographical Indications Act. Notably, there is a significant reduction in fees for filing applications, especially for the registration and renewal of authorized users. This change may aim to encourage producers and agriculturists at the grassroots level to actively seek protection for their Geographical Indications.

Some changes are as follows:

• The application for the registration of a geographical indication for goods included in one class or from a convention country amounted to Rs. 5000/-, which now has been amended to Rs 1000/- only.
• The application for the registration of an authorised user, which costed Rs 500/-, has changed to Rs 10 only.
• The renewal of an authorised user, which costed Rs 1000/-, has now changed to Rs 10 only.
• The application to the Registrar for additional protection to certain goods, which costed Rs 25,000/-, has now been amended to Rs 12,000/-.