Kashmiri Pashmina was registered as a GI under Application Number 46. The Craft Development Institute, Srinagar, which is a registered society under the Jammu and Kashmir Societies Registration Act, 1998, submitted the application. Pashmina was registered under Class 24 of the Schedule Fourth annexed to the Geographical Indication of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 (hence referred to as the GI Act, 1999). The woven version of Pashm is Kashmiri Pashmina. It has been a source of pride for both eastern royalty and European Lords. Despite the upheavals of the times, the Kashmiri Pashmina is under danger by the invasion of similar-looking sub-standard counterfeit items marketed under the guise of genuine Kashmiri Pashmina.
Through tough times, it is the craftsmen of Kashmir who have maintained and perpetuated this historic practice. The same practitioners are now up against every nation and culture that is not just mimicking but also claiming ownership of these trades. Many major woolen manufacturing locations, such as Amritsar and Ludhiana, have recently begun producing low-cost jacquard woven woolen Shawls that imitate traditional Pashmina patterns and advertise them as “Pashmina.” These shawls are often mass-produced and of poor quality. Apart from these efforts, other nations manufacturing machine-made Pashmina items are also promoting their products under the same Kashmiri Pashmina Brand, despite the fact that they do not fulfill quality criteria.
China also manufactures fake pashmina items as well. These machine-woven shawls are competing with and pushing out the hand-woven Kashmiri Pashmina. This results in the loss of traditional craftsmen’s abilities and an erosion of their profitability as high-cost authentic (handmade) work is forced to compete with low-quality merchandise. All of this is happening despite the fact that the word “Pashmina” is closely linked to the Kashmir area. In reality, when a product has the Pashmina tag attached to it, it means two things: first, that the product was created in Kashmir, and second, that the product has particular qualities due to the unique manufacturing process used by the inhabitants of that area. Both of these characteristics that distinguish Pashmina are being hijacked and misused by other producers who use the brand in a broad meaning. This widespread misappropriation of Kashmiri Pashmina highlights the critical need for an efficient enforcement system.
Registration of GI is required in order to assert any rights under Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999. The following are some of the advantages of registering:
- In the case of an infringement, the registered owner and authorized users have the right to sue.
- The authorized users have the sole right to use the GI of the products.
Although GI registration is not required in India, Section 20 (1) does not provide legal support for unregistered GIs. Thus, registering a GI gives its registered owner and authorized users the ability to seek redress for violation. According to Section 67 of the act, relief given by Indian courts for infringement of geographical indications may be roughly split into two categories- civil and criminal remedies. Civil remedies where interim or permanent injunctions may be given for the disclosure of records, the protection of infringing objects, documents, or other facts pertaining to the subject matter of the complaint. An injunction is given to prevent the defendant from disposing of his assets, which may jeopardize the plaintiff’s capacity to obtain damages, costs, or any monetary remedies that may ultimately be awarded to the plaintiff.
In any case where the defendant satisfies the court in the violation proceedings that he was ignorant at the time he started using the geographical sign in the suit, and had no reason to believe that the plaintiff’s geographical sign was on the registry; and when he became aware of the existence and nature of the plaintiff’s right in GI. Another civil remedy is Delivery of infringement labels and suggestions for destruction or forfeiture of items bearing a false representation of an existing G.I. Civil remedies are less effective than judicial remedies since they may be readily disposed of. Such offences and sanctions are addressed in Chapter VIII of the Act. Sections 38 to 44 of the GI Act, 1999 establish penal liability for violations of different laws pertaining to the geographical indications. For Falsifying and misapplying geographical designations to products and selling items bearing misleading geographical indications, an imprisonment of 6 months to 3 years in prison and a fine of not less than Rs. 50,000 but not less than Rs. 200,000 is applicable.
The majority of craftsmen are not registered with any group/association/government agency, and they are denied the advantages granted to artisan organizations by the State or Central Government. Artists want the registration procedure to be simplified for them. Artisans find it difficult to complete the registration procedures since it is a time-consuming process that cannot be completed by a local artisan who is working. Unless and until the legislation is put into effect, it is only a dead text. To provide the full benefit of the GI Act, 1999 to Pashmina Artisans, the registration procedure must be streamlined and made less time consuming so that the maximum number of artisans may register as authorized users under the Act.
Through this article, I encourage the Government of India to make registration under the GI Act widely promoted in order to raise the awareness among artisans. Simultaneous efforts should be undertaken to register them in other nations, particularly Europe, Japan, and the United States. The GI Act must be more “user-friendly” in order to guarantee smooth operation. Protection should not come at the expense of the economic, administrative, and legal disadvantage and inconvenience of the persons who possess the expertise. There is a need to revisit the different sections of the Act to ensure that the benefits of the law are distributed evenly to everyone participating in the handicrafts industry.
(Author is a Ph.D. (Law) Scholar at Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Punjab. She has previously worked as a Law Officer in Canara Bank (A Public Sector Bank in India). She has extensively published in the reputed academic journals (e.g., GLC Mumbai Contemporary Law review, Amity International Journal of Juridical Sciences, International Journal of Enviro Legal Research, Indian National Law Review, Legal mirror etc. Email: [email protected])
