News & Events 

  • Virtual Roundtable on Protecting GI in the Era of Competitive Market on November 28, 2020

The Department for Promotion of Industry and International Trade (Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India) Chair on IPR and Centre for Intellectual Property Rights, at Maharashtra National Law University, Nagpur in association with Geographical Indication Registry organised a Virtual Roundtable on 'Protecting GI in the Era of Competitive Market' on November 28, 2020. The roundtable conference saw participation from law students and law professionals from different parts of the country. It commenced with a speech on 'GI in Competition Driven Market' delivered by Prof. (Dr.) S.P. Rathore, Professor, Gujarat University. He argued that GI can play a major role in the economic development of the country and also discussed the importance of GI in furthering the PM's vision of 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat', which can be done by targeting the exports of GI products. It was followed by an elaborate discussion on 'Challenges to Registration and Protection of GIs in India' by Adv. P. Sanjai Gandhi, IPR Attorney, President of Intellectual Property Rights Attorney Association, India. He explained the need for strengthening IPR to acquire both economic as well as social benefits.

Dr. Chinnaraja G. Naidu, Registrar of Geographical Indications Registry discussed 'Registration and Quality assurance mechanism of GI in India'.The event concluded with a panel discussion on the importance of GI by Mr. GirishMurudkar Proprietor, MurudkarZendewale and Fetewale LLP, Authorised user of 'PuneriPagadi' and Dr. PrakashNagre, Dean of Horticulture at P.K.V. Akola which is the GI holder of 'Nagpur Oranges'. The event was conducted under the guidance of IPR Chair Incharge Dr. Ragini P. Khubalkar, and research assistants, ShwetaKulkarni and Srijan Mishra. Student members of the Centre for Intellectual Property Rights, Maharashtra National Law University, Nagpur namely, Ruchir Joshi, AyushiBhutra, AmanBahl, Shrishti Nigam, YashiAgrawal, and PraveshBansod also contributed towards the successful conduction of the event.