THE government is wasting time by trying to formulate the relevant rules and regulations of the Geographical Indication (GI) Act 2013 in order to protect the patent rights of traditional products like Jamdani, Hilsa fish, Nokshi kantha etc., reports different national dailies on Wednesday. The country is consequently losing out the patent rights of some traditional products, especially Jamdani saris. Neighbouring India has already grabbed its patent rights by patenting Uppara Jamdani. We are apprehensive of further losses due to others patenting our traditional products that we inherited geographically.
GI is a name or sign used on certain products to certify that they possess certain qualities because they are made as per traditional methods or enjoy a certain reputation due to its geographical origin. The government took initiative to formulate GI Act in 2009, with the first draft of the law placed on the Industries Ministry website in January 2012. The Geographical Indicative Products (Registration and Protection) Act was finally passed in November last year. However, critics point fingers at some loopholes of the law i.e. lack of rules and regulations, the lone focus on only punishment which, in fact, has no effect due to a want of regulations. The GI products cannot be registered under the law in absence of the rules. Hence, concerns were expressed on identifying the lapses in the recently enacted GI Act to save our local heritage. Jamdani no doubt exclusively belongs to us. The traditional art of weaving Jamdani Muslin ‘of Bangladesh’ was enlisted in UNESCO’s list of the “Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity” in 2013. So, the right to produce Jamdani should not be the casualty of the government’s indifference and we must not lose our heredity leaving the rights to other countries.
India registered the Bangladeshi Jamdani as Uppada Jamdani saris in 2009 in the absence of a law in the country. But the ecological context of the production of cotton and finished Jamdani products are unique in the Dhaka region. The quality of water of the region, basically of the river Shitalakhya, is a major component that ensures the quality control of Jamdani. The cleansing of cotton thread in the water of Shitalakhya brings a glaze in the finished product. The local ecology inspired most of the Jamdani designs. So, Jamdani is a part of the national culture and heritage of Bangladesh and as such our long-term cultural and historic continuity of producing Jamdanis is unmatched elsewhere in the world. Therefore, India’s registration of the Uppada Jamdani under its GI law is illegal and a violation of existing regulation of TRIPS [Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights]. The government should be more vocal to retrieve the rights of Jamdani. We share the view that Jamdani cannot be termed as Dhakai Jamdani or Uppada Jamdani as Jamdani is a unique name, which only indicates one geographic location — that of Dhaka.
As Jamdani has a huge export potential, we urge the government to enforce an extensive economic diplomacy. The government should take measures immediately for a reciprocal arrangement with India to settle conventions on Jamdani. Similarly, the legal inadequacy of the GI law provisions should be taken care of, and the law should be enacted and enforced henceforth to protect the national interest.
