Right to use GI; rights of registered proprietor / authorised user; devolution — Intellectual Property Rights I Notes
Right to use GI; rights of registered proprietor / authorised user; devolution
Every year the KSLU paper asks the same deceptively simple question: an authorised user of a registered GI dies — who inherits his right? Students who treat a GI like ordinary property get it wrong, because a GI cannot be sold or bequeathed at all — it can only devolve on death to the successor in title. Master s.24 and you own a guaranteed answer.
The rights and how they move
A. Registered proprietor and authorised user
The Act creates two kinds of right-holder, and you must keep them apart:
- the registered proprietor — the association/organisation/authority in whose name the GI is registered (entered in Part A); and
- the authorised user — a producer of the goods who applies under s.17 and is registered (in Part B) as entitled to actually use the GI on his goods.
The proprietor holds the GI for the community; the authorised users are the individual producers who put the name on their products.
B. Rights conferred — s.21
Registration confers on the registered proprietor and the authorised user:
- the exclusive right to use the geographical indication in relation to the registered goods; and
- the right to obtain relief for infringement of the GI (Topic 5).
Importantly, where two or more persons are authorised users of the same (or identical/similar) GI, the rights of each are equal, and no one of them can claim an exclusive right against the others (s.21(2)). They all share the collective name.
C. No assignment or transmission — devolution on death (s.24)
This is the section that decides the recurring problems. A GI is a community asset, so s.24 provides that a GI is NOT the subject matter of assignment, transmission, licensing, pledge, mortgage or any similar agreement. A holder therefore cannot sell or license his GI right. The only exception the section itself allows: on the death of an authorised user, his right devolves on his successor in title — an heir who steps into his place. Devolution by inheritance is permitted; sale or assignment is not.
GI Act, 1999, s.24: “Notwithstanding anything contained in any law for the time being in force, any right to a registered geographical indication shall not be the subject matter of assignment, transmission, licensing, pledge, mortgage or any such other agreement: Provided that on the death of an authorised user his right in a registered geographical indication shall devolve on his successor in title under the law for the time being in force.”
GI Act, 1999, s.21(2): “the registration of a geographical indication shall not confer any right of exclusive use to two or more authorised users… against each other.”
In Simple Terms: A GI is used by the registered proprietor (the producers’ body) and by authorised users (the individual producers). Both may use the name and sue for infringement, but multiple authorised users share it equally — none can claim it exclusively against the others. And because a GI belongs to the community, it can never be sold, assigned or licensed (s.24) — the only way a right moves is by devolution on death to the successor in title.
🧩 WORKED EXAMPLE — the authorised user who dies
Facts. ‘Z’, an authorised user holding a right in a registered geographical indication, dies. On whom does his right devolve?
Rule. s.24 — a GI right cannot be assigned or transmitted, but on the death of an authorised user it devolves on his successor in title under the applicable succession law.
Apply. ‘Z’s right does not lapse and cannot be sold; by the proviso to s.24 it passes automatically to his legal successor in title (his heir).
Conclusion. ‘Z’s right devolves on his successor in title — the one recurring answer the examiner is testing.
🧩 WORKED EXAMPLE — ‘A’ wants to sell his GI right to ‘B’
Facts. ‘A’, an authorised user of a registered GI, wants to sell his right to ‘B’. Can he do so?
Rule. s.24 — a GI right shall not be the subject of assignment, transmission, licensing, pledge or mortgage.
Apply. Selling the right to ‘B’ is an assignment/transmission, exactly what s.24 forbids; a GI is a community right, not tradeable private property.
Conclusion. ‘A’ cannot sell his GI right to ‘B’; any such sale is void under s.24.
🧩 WORKED EXAMPLE — Rama and Laxman, and the claim of exclusivity
Facts. Rama and Laxman are both authorised users registered for an identical or nearly resembling GI. Rama claims an exclusive right over it. Will he succeed?
Rule. s.21(2) — where two or more persons are authorised users of the same/identical GI, none has any right of exclusive use against the other; their rights are equal.
Apply. Rama and Laxman are co-authorised users; Rama cannot elevate himself above Laxman, because the GI is a shared community name and s.21(2) denies exclusivity between them.
Conclusion. Rama’s claim of exclusive right against Laxman fails; both share equal rights in the GI.
flowchart TD
R["Rights in a GI"]:::root
R --> PROP["Registered proprietor (producers' body, Part A)"]:::leaf
R --> AU["Authorised user (individual producer, s.17, Part B)"]:::leaf
AU --> USE["Exclusive right to use + sue for infringement (s.21)"]:::leaf
AU --> EQ["Co-users are equal — no exclusivity inter se (s.21(2))"]:::leaf
R --> S24{"Sell / assign / licence?"}
S24 -->|"No"| BAR["Barred (s.24)"]:::leaf
S24 -->|"On death only"| DEV["Devolves on successor in title (s.24 proviso)"]:::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) — clarified the scope of a registered proprietor’s rights and their limits against unrelated goods/services.
- Scotch Whisky Association v Golden Bottling Ltd (2006) — enforced the registered right against a misleading user, illustrating the s.21 relief.
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