Registrar of Geographical Indications — role and functions — Intellectual Property Rights I Notes

Registrar of Geographical Indications — role and functions

Somebody has to decide whether “Tirupati Laddu” or “Banarasi Saree” truly deserves protection, keep the official list up to date, and hear objections from rivals. That job belongs to one office — the Registrar of Geographical Indications.

What the Registrar is and does

The Registrar of Geographical Indications is, under s.3, the Controller-General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks, who functions as the Registrar for GIs; the office (the Geographical Indications Registry) is located at Chennai. The Registrar administers the whole registration and protection system.

Functions and powers of the Registrar:

maintaining the Register of GIs (s.6) in its two parts (GIs and authorised users), and keeping it accurate;
examining applications for GIs and for authorised users, and calling for expert reports;
accepting, conditionally accepting, or refusing applications (s.12);
advertising accepted applications in the GI Journal (s.13) and hearing oppositions (s.14);
registering GIs and authorised users and issuing certificates (ss.16, 17);
renewing registrations (s.18) and correcting/rectifying the Register (ss.27–28);
exercising quasi-judicial powers (of a civil court) in proceedings before it; and
withdrawing acceptance or cancelling registration in appropriate cases.

The Registrar’s decisions are appealable (formerly to the IPAB; after the 2021 reforms, appeals lie to the High Court).

GI Act, 1999, s.3(1): “The Controller-General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks appointed under sub-section (1) of section 3 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999, shall be the Registrar of Geographical Indications.”

In Simple Terms: The Registrar of Geographical Indications (the Controller-General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks, with the Registry at Chennai) runs the GI system: keeps the two-part Register, examines and decides applications, advertises them, hears oppositions, registers GIs and authorised users, renews and rectifies entries, and acts with the powers of a civil court.

🧩 WORKED EXAMPLE — an objection at the Registry

Facts. After a GI application is advertised, a rival files an opposition claiming the name is generic.

Rule. ss.13–14 — the Registrar advertises accepted applications and hears oppositions, deciding them after evidence, with the powers of a civil court.

Apply. The Registrar examines whether the indication is generic (a s.9 bar) or genuinely origin-linked, hears both sides, and then registers or refuses.

Conclusion. The Registrar is the authority that adjudicates the opposition and decides whether the GI proceeds to registration.

flowchart TD
    REG["Registrar of GIs (s.3) — Registry at Chennai"]:::root
    REG --> KEEP["Maintains two-part Register (s.6)"]:::leaf
    REG --> EXAM["Examines & decides applications (s.12)"]:::leaf
    REG --> ADV["Advertises (s.13) & hears oppositions (s.14)"]:::leaf
    REG --> ISS["Registers GIs & authorised users; renews (ss.16-18)"]:::leaf
    REG --> RECT["Rectifies/corrects the Register (ss.27-28)"]:::leaf
    classDef root fill:#FFF8DC,stroke:#000,color:#000;
    classDef leaf fill:#E6F3FF,stroke:#1E3A8A,color:#000;

Case Laws

Tea Board, India v ITC Ltd (2011) — proceeded on the “Darjeeling” GI as entered and administered by the Registry.
Scotch Whisky Association v Golden Bottling Ltd (2006) — relied on the registered status the Registrar’s office confers.

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