In the Territory of India there are different States and each State has different culture, follow different dressing pattern, different food habits and preparation of different dishes peculiar to different States. Accord

CS Professional · Intellectual Property Rights - Law and Practice · PYQS · December 2024
In the Territory of India there are different States and each State has different culture, follow different dressing pattern, different food habits and preparation of different dishes peculiar to different States. Accordingly there is a dispute between Odisha and West Bengal regarding their popular sweet desert called "Rasagulla". For the purpose of getting GI The West Bengal State Food Processing and Horticultural Development Corporation Ltd have moved to Chennai Registry of GI and accordingly the latter has granted GI to West Bengal with a brand name of Banglar Rasagulla tag in the year 2017. The decision was made by Registrar primarily based on the confidence with the product as the same is ancient and traditional with regard to its quality, taste, popularity, peculiarity of its availability in different parts of the country with its brand name Calcutta Rasagulla. The Calcutta Rasagulla is otherwise known as Banglar Rasagulla. It has the following features. White in colour, Spongy in Texture, Syrupy sweet dessert in Taste. This was made by Nobin Chandra Das a renowned sweet producer of Bengal at his home Bagbazaar, Kolkata. Later on an application was filed in the year 2018 by State of Odisha through its Odisha Small Industries Corporation Ltd and Utkal Mistanna Byabasayee Samiti. Their contention is that the Odisha Rasagola is famous for its flavour, texture and colour. The said sweet is very soft in nature, brown in colour and also not overly sweet. The Odisha Rasagola is distinctive in nature due to overall qualities. Over and above this the said sweet dish has been mentioned in historical literature written about Odisha indicating the geographical origin of the meal to this Region. It is in prevalent since 12th Century, distributed at Lord Jagannath Temple, Puri, Brown in colour, soft and tender and last but not the least not very sweet and it is called as Odisha Rasagola. Based on the application made by Odisha Small Industries Ltd and another the State of Odisha has received a GI designation for the "Odisha Rasagola". What are the grounds under which protection granted to the breeder can be revoked under Protection of plant varieties ?

Answer & Explanation:

Revocation of protection on various grounds under Protection of plant varieties. The certificate of registration granted can be revoked under following ground: Incorrect information furnished by the applicant based on which the certificate of registration was granted, Certificate granted to ineligible person Non furnishing of requisite information, documents or materials to Registrar by the breeder. Failure of the breeder to provide an alternative denomination of the variety which is the subject matter of the Registration when the earlier denomination submitted is not permissible for registration. Authority under Section 47 of Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Act, 2001 regarding variety based on which registration certificate was granted, That the grant is certificate of registration is not in the interest of the public Failure of breeder to comply with the directions of the Authority concerned. Non-compliance of the provisions of the Act, Rules and regulations made thereunder. The legal grounds for the revocation, as outlined by the authority, were rooted in Section 34 of the Act. This section delineates the circumstances under which the protection granted to a breeder may be revoked. In the present case, the violation of Section 34, pertaining to incorrect information provided during the registration process, formed the crux of the authority's decision. The careful examination of legal provisions highlighted the scrutiny applied to uphold the integrity of the intellectual property framework. As a consequence of these developments, the Authority contemplated reassessing the application in accordance with Section 34(a), (b), (c), and (h) of the Act, leading to the revocation of the certificate by the authority. "34. Revocation of protection on certain grounds. -Subject to the provisions contained in this Act, the protection granted to a breeder in respect of a variety may, on the application in the prescribed manner of any person interested, be revoked by the Authority on any of the following grounds, namely:- that the grant of the certificate of registration has been based on incorrect information furnished by the applicant; that the certificate of registration has been granted to a person who is not eligible for protection under this Act; that the breeder did not provide the Registrar with such information, documents or material as required for registration under this Act; that the grant of the certificate of registration is not in the public interest.

Topics: Plant Varieties Protection

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