Textiles Committee Organised A Webinar on IPR Protection For Unique Textiles

Event & Conferences

Textiles Committee Organised A Webinar on IPR Protection For Unique Textiles

The Textiles Committee, Ministry of Textiles, Govt. of India in collaboration with the Office of the Development Commissioner (Handlooms), Ministry of Textiles & Export Promotion Bureau, Govt. of UP, organised a webinar on `Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Protection of Unique Products through GI and Post GI Initiatives’, on 25^th August 2021. The main objective of the webinar was to create awareness amongst stakeholders in the textile and handicraft sectors about the benefits of GI and need for taking up post GI Initiatives for converting this IPR into tangible benefits in terms of increased income and employment for the authorised producers. Since inception of the IPR Act, 1999, 370 products have been registered under the GI, out of which 214 products belong to the textiles and handicrafts segment. The Textiles Committee, which has facilitated 56 products for GI registration has been creating awareness about the GI Act and its uses to all the stakeholders through such interactive workshops/ webinars cum technical sessions. Navneet Sehgal, IAS, Addl. Chief Secretary, Dept. of MSME & Export Promotion, Govt. of Uttar Pradesh, in his keynote address elaborated the activities being taken up by the government of Uttar Pradesh for strengthening intervention in the state for realising better premium price for registered products. He also emphasised the need for creating a dedicated GI Cell in the Textiles Committee at national level for supporting the stakeholders in registering their products and also successfully implementing the post-GI Initiatives. Ms. Roop Rashi, Textile Commissioner & Vice-Chairperson, Textiles Committee in her address as Guest of Honour highlighted the need and importance of registering unique textile and handicraft products under the GI Act, 1999 thereby providing them legal protection from unauthorised users and counterfeits and also ensuring higher premium on genuine products. She emphasised on the need to register more and more products for further strengthening the unique textiles and handicrafts of the country and protect livelihood of thousands of weavers and artisans associated with the products. Ajit B. Chavan, Secretary, Textiles Committee highlighted the activities undertaken by the Committee in furthering the GI movement in the country, which inter alia included organising 115 GI workshops/awareness programmes in key textile clusters of the country, finally resulting into 56 products under Part A and 1433 stakeholders as authorised user under Part B of the GI Act, 1999. He further informed that the Textiles Committee has facilitated registration of important products like Banaras sarees and brocades and Lucknow chikan craft, Agra durrie work of Uttar Pradesh, Surat zari, Pochampally ikat, Paithani saree, Kutch bandhani, etc. The webinar was attended by 165 participants from the central and state government, officers of District Industries and Enterprise Promotion Centre (DIC), academicians, civil society organisations, experts on IPR and the producers of unique textile and handcrafted products. The Technical Session deliberated on different facets of GI including brand promotion and market linkage of the GI registered products. Two case studies on Chanderi saree of Madhya Pradesh and Pochampally ikat of Telangana were discussed at length for adoption in other GI registered product clusters. Dr. T.K. Rout, Dy. Director (MR), Textiles Committee deliberated on legal and procedural aspects of GI including the benefits.