Govt to put GI law in place soon

The industries ministry will place the bill of Geographical Indication (GI) Act of Bangladesh in the winter session of parliament to get it passed.
The law will ensure entitlement to the country's traditional products such as Jamdani sari, hilsa fish, Nakshikantha and Fazli mango and protect the reputation of the products against piracy.
“We are now working on the draft of the act to make it short,” said Mohammad Moinuddin Abdullah, secretary to the industries ministry.
The GI is a name or sign used on certain products referring to a specific geographical location or the country of origin.
It certifies that a product possesses certain quality, is made according to traditional methods or enjoys a certain reputation just because it belongs to a specific geographic location.
The government has taken the initiative to formulate the GI Act in 2009 and prepared a draft in 2010, a ministry official said.
However, Abdullah said, “I don't know why the delay occurred in finalising the law.”
In the absence of the GI Act, Bangladesh is going to lose its rights to some traditional products as India has taken initiative to entitle Jamdani under its GI Act, industry people said.
India will not be able to register the original Jamdani under its GI Act as the country is yet to get membership of World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), said Mahboob Murshed, a former additional judge and a legal expert.
Bangladesh will be able to register Jamdani under its GI Act through Lisbon Agreement -- an agreement of WIPO -- as a country of origin of Jamdani, said Murshed. He suggested the Bangladesh government should be a member of the WIPO.
“The government should finalise the law as soon as possible to stop piracy of our traditional products by other countries,” he said.
Once the law is passed, Indian Jamdani will not be able to enter Bangladesh's market and it also help boost export of Bangladeshi Jamdani to the international markets, he added.

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