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 is trade secret? How are trade secret protected ?

Answer & Explanation:

A trade secret is any kind of information that is secret and not generally known in the relevant industry giving the owner an advantage over competitors. In other words, any information which can be used in business and is sufficiently valuable to afford an actual or potential economic advantage over others is a trade secret. Trade secret includes formulas, patterns, methods, programs, techniques, processes or compilations of the information providing competitive edge. Trade secrets are not protected by any law as a registered trademarks or a patent. Article 39 of Trade Related Aspects Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement protects for trade secrets in the form of undisclosed information' and provides a uniform mechanism for the international protection of trade secrets. These are protected by a variety of civil and commercial means. Any other person (including employees) with the potential to come to know the secret is asked to sign a confidentiality and/or non-disclosure agreement. Violation of these agreements generally entails financial penalties. In India, the only remedies available for the protection of trade secrets are civil or equitable remedies for a breach of confidence cause of action. They include: an award of injunction "preventing the third party from disclosing the trade secrets," and "confidential and proprietary information," and; in the case of "for any losses suffered due to disclosure of trade secrets." the court may order any damages or compensation to be given to the plaintiff.

Topics: Trade Secrets

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