Kumar, Saima Ahad Junaid, Alam Mir and Farhad,Saima
Geographical indication: A potential tool for rural development in Jammu & Kashmir
- Kashmir Journal of Legal Studies
- 10(1), Jul, 2023: p.111-122
Geographical indication (GI), a type of Intellectual property, is a label assigned to products with a distinct geographical origin and attributes, reputations, or features that are principally attributable to that origin (WIPO, 2012).In general, GIs promote local identity, cultural traditions, and highquality products like Champagne, Cuban cigars, Roquefort cheese, and Kashmiri hand-knotted carpets. While there is a great demand for these kinds of traditional products, GIs supply local producers in rural areas with specialized and high value-added products. Socio-cultural and agro-ecological features of a location can be highlighted through registered GI products. When a product is associated with its place of origin, it represents the culture and specific identity of the place which may be a distant and/or underprivileged region/area of a particular country or region. Small local producers can benefit from GI registration as well. In this way, they can compete against large corporations because GI registration ensures product quality in some way, and when quality is assured, registered GI product/s are treated as equal to branded product/s.In the framework of rural development, this study seeks to examine the use of geographical indications in Jammu and Kashmir alongside well-known examples from around the world and to increase awareness of the importance of GI for rural development.In addition, the article emphasizes the difficulties and concerns connected with accomplishing rural development using GIs. Reproduced