UPSC Prelims 2018 · Question 26 of 99
UPSC Prelims 2018 question on Gi Act WTO Obligations
- ExamUPSC CSE
- Year2018
- PaperGeneral Studies Paper I
- SubjectIndian Economy
- TopicImportant Economic Concepts
- DifficultyEasy
- TypeDirect
India enacted the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 in order to comply with the obligations to
Show answer
Answer: D. WTO
Analysis
The Act was enacted to comply with WTO obligations, so the answer is (d).
Geographical indications identify a country or place as the origin of a product, conveying an assurance of quality and distinctiveness attributable to that origin. They are covered as an element of intellectual property under Articles 1(2) and 10 of the Paris Convention, and under Articles 22 to 24 of the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, which was part of the agreements concluding the Uruguay Round of GATT negotiations. India, as a member of the World Trade Organization, enacted the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999, which came into force on 15 September 2003.
The other options fail on mandate: the ILO deals with labour standards, the IMF with monetary and balance of payments matters, and UNCTAD with trade and development policy, none of which sets binding intellectual property obligations.
Source
WIPO frequently asked questions on geographical indications.
How to crack it
The reasoning chain runs through TRIPS. Any Indian intellectual property statute passed in the late 1990s is almost certainly TRIPS compliance legislation, and TRIPS is a WTO agreement. Fix that one link and the whole family of questions on patents, trademarks and geographical indications resolves to the WTO.