What is meant by "Geographical Indications" under intellectual property rights ?

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 maybe. 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. India enacted the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration & Protection) Act, 1999. This Act seeks to provide for the registration and better protection of geographical indications relating to goods in India. Examples of Indian Geographical Indications are Darjeeling Tea, Kanchipuram Silk Saree, Alphanso Mango, Nagpur Orange, Kolhapuri Chappal etc.