Intellectual Property and Gender in Geographical Indications: A Case Study of Chendamangalam Handlooms in Kerala

Abstract

Geographical Indications (GI) are signs bestowed on goods that convey an assurance of quality and distinctiveness attributable to their origin in a defined geographical locality, region or country. Under Articles 1(2) and 10 of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, geographical indications are covered as an element of IPRs. They are also covered under Articles 22 to 24 of the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement, which was part of the Agreements concluding the Uruguay Round of GATT negotiations. India, as a member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), through the enactment of the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration & Protection) Act, 1999, which came into force with effect from 15th September 2003, also recognises the legal right of intellectual property protection in GI. GI is distinctive from other types of Intellectual property because the property and the conjoined legal right are vested in a local collectivity.This paper argues that considering GI as a property of the ‘local’ people provides a different domain of ownership in IP, which needs to be scrutinised. An enquiry into the legal expediency of using geographical indications to protect the local should start by subjecting categories like place and community to a sociological analysis to examine the gendered lapses in their conceptualisation. The Chendamangalam handlooms, located in Kerala, which enjoy GI protection, are taken as a case study to apply a feminist methodology of legal enquiry to understand the potentials and loopholes in how Geographical Indication is conceptualised as a legal right.