GI Application Archives - Blog | Trademarkmaldives

A Geographical Indication (GI) is a label or tag given or applied to products having a specific geographical origin, along with certain characteristics related to that specific origin. The GI tag’s owner holds exclusive rights over such a product.

Three Tamil Nadu-based products, including Thooyamalli rice, Virudhunagar sambha vathal (Chilly), and Puliyankudi acid lime, have recently filed applications for GI tags in Chennai. On behalf of the applicants, details on all the three previously mentioned products were gathered and prepared by Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) attorney P. Sanjai Gandhi.

The GI Application for Puliyankudi acid lime has been made by the Tamil Nadu State Agricultural Marketing Board and Melapuliyankudi Farmers’ Association. The facilitator, in this case, is the NABARD Madurai Agri-Business Incubation Forum.

Puliyankudi is the name of a village in Tenkasi. It is widely recognized for its acid lime cultivation. The local people here refer to this place as the lemon city of Tamil Nadu. Kadayam lemon found in this place is famous for two aspects, taste and juiciness. Acid lime trees are small in size and bushy with pointed and sharp spines. The leaves are also small, along with narrowly winged petioles. Both the flowers and fruits are small. The lemons grown in this region weigh about 50 g each, and every tree bears around 950 fruits in totality. They are grown in Puliyankudi, Kadayam, Sankarankovil, Kuruvikulam, Kadayanallur, and other adjoining areas.

The GI application for Virudhunagar sambha vathal has been made by the Virudhunagar Chillies’ Merchants Association and the Tamil Nadu State Agricultural Marketing Board. Chillies are primarily grown in the districts of Virudhunagar, Sivagangai, Thoothukudi, and Ramanathapuram of Tamil Nadu, and the chief markets for them are also located here. The long, lean shape of chillies grown in Vilathikulam, Virudhunagar, and Sattur regions is known as Virudhunagar sambha chilli. These chillies are vibrant red in color, 6-6.5 cm in length, with bulged shoulders and sharp tips. As these chillies have good capsaicin content, they are preferred in the value addition industry, specifically for oleoresin extraction.

The GI application for Thooyamalli rice has been made by the Tamil Nadu State Agricultural Marketing Board and facilitated by NABARD Madurai Agri-Business Incubation Forum. Thooyamalli rice, which means pure jasmine, is cultivated for 135-140 days during the sambha season. The seeds are sown directly, and for growing this variety, a transplanting system is used. It grows between 115 and 125 cm in height and yields around 1,125 kg per acre, with a straw yield of 35 bundles, i.e., 1,050 kg per acre. Thooyamalli rice is protein-rich and has high-fat content. In terms of mineral content, it is high in zinc, magnesium, and iron.

The head office of GI in Chennai has also received applications in the past week from several products across the nation, such as West Bengal’s Begampur cotton handloom saree and Kolkatti jewelry. Furthermore, GI applications for Goa Hilario Mango (Manghilar or Mangilar/Mangilal) and Taleigao Vayingim (brinjal) from Goa have also been filed recently. For more visit: https://www.trademarkmaldives.com