The "Mewar Marble Association", consisting of marble quarry owners from the Udaipur region of Rajasthan, applies for registration of the name "Mewar Marble" as a Geographical Indication. They claim that the marble extrac

Under Section 2(e) of the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999, a Geographical indication in relation to goods means an indication which identifies such goods as agricultural goods, natural goods or manufactured goods as originating, or manufactured in the territory of a country, or a region or locality in that territory, where a given quality, reputation or other characteristic of such goods is essentially attributable to its geographical origin and in case where such goods are manufactured goods one of the activities of either the production or of processing or preparation of the goods concerned takes place in such territory, region or locality, as the case may be. It may be noted that any name which is not the name of a country, region or locality of that country shall also be considered as the geographical indication if it relates to a specific geographical area and is used upon or in relation to particular goods originating from that country, region or locality, as the case may be. In the present case, the Mewar Marble Association has applied for registration of "Mewar Marble", which clearly indicates that the marble originates from the Mewar region of Rajasthan. The marble is claimed to have unique texture, durability and characteristics that are attributable to the geographical conditions and traditional mining methods of the region. Therefore, the indication directly relates the goods to a specific geographical area and its special qualities. Hence, "Mewar Marble" can be registered as a Geographical Indication, as it satisfies the requirements of the Act.