|
|
|
You can get e-magazine links on WhatsApp. Click here
|
|
|
|
|
|
India wins trademark case for Ponni rice against Malaysian Co.
|
|
Friday, 20 August, 2010, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
|
|
Our Bureau, Mumbai
|
In a significant victory for rice growers and exporters, India has won the trademark case against a Malaysian firm which was granted the registration for the “Ponni” rice, a non-Basmati aromatic variety grown in Tamil Nadu. The High Court in Malaysia on Tuesday ruled that Syarikat Faiza cannot use the “Ponni” label for its rice products. Malaysian firm Syarikat Faiza was issued a certificate, making it the registered proprietor of the Ponni trademark in Malaysia. The firm had been importing Ponni rice variety from India and was distributing it in Malaysia under the “Taj Mahal” brand name. Early 2000, the company sought registration of Ponni under the Malaysian Trademarks Act.
India’s Apeda, under the ministry of commerce, had contested the trademark certification and said on Tuesday that the Malaysian authorities had upheld its position that Ponni rice belonged to India. “The judgement implies that the Ponni variety remains with us,” Asit Tripathy, chairman, Apeda, said. The judgement would also prevent Syarikat Faiza from importing rice from Thailand or other key producing countries and sell it as Ponni within Malaysia.
Farmers in Tamil Nadu have been protesting over Malaysia being granted trademark rights for the rice variety. White Ponni rice was developed by Tamil Nadu Agricultural University in 1986 and is cultivated in thousands of acres in the state.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|