Economic, Commercial and Intellectual Property Laws · Law relating to Geographical Indications of Goods

Effect, Duration and Renewal of GI Registration

Updated 11 October 2026 · Fact-checked

A GI registration lasts ten years and can be renewed for ten years at a time. Registration lets the proprietor and authorised users sue for infringement, and gives authorised users the exclusive right to use the GI. If renewal is missed, the Registrar may remove it. Late renewal is allowed within six months, restoration after that within one year.

Understand Effect, Duration and Renewal of Registration

A geographical indication (GI) names goods that come from a place and owe their quality or reputation to it. The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 lets that name be registered. This topic asks what registration gives you, who gets it, and how long it lasts.

The Act splits the benefit between two people. The registered proprietor is the one in whose name the GI is registered. The authorised user is a producer of the goods who is registered as a user of that GI. Both can seek relief for infringement. Only the authorised user gets the exclusive right to use the GI for the registered goods. The proprietor, as such, does not get that right of use.

The exclusive right is not absolute. It is subject to any condition or limitation to which the registration is subject. If two authorised users hold GIs that are identical or nearly alike, registration alone does not give either one exclusive rights against the other. Each has the same rights against outsiders as a sole authorised user would have.

Registration is time-limited. It runs for ten years and is renewed for ten years each time, counted from the expiry of the last registration. An authorised user's registration runs for ten years or until the GI's own registration expires, whichever is earlier. So an authorised user can never outlast the GI.

If renewal is missed, the law gives two safety nets. First, a late-renewal window of six months with a surcharge. Second, a restoration window after removal. You must know both windows, and the order in which they run.

Key rules to remember

Duration of GI registration: Registration = 10 years; renewal = 10 years each time; Section 18(1) and (3). Renewal runs from the expiry of the original registration or last renewal.
Duration of authorised user's registration: 10 years OR till the GI's registration expires, whichever is earlier; Section 18(2). The authorised user can never outlast the GI itself.
Who may apply for renewal: Registered proprietor or authorised user; Section 18(3). Application in the prescribed manner, within the prescribed period, with the prescribed fee.
Notice before expiry: Registrar sends notice at the prescribed time before expiry; Section 18(4). If conditions are not complied with, the Registrar may remove the GI or authorised user from the register.
Late renewal: Within 6 months from expiry + prescribed form, fee and surcharge = no removal; renewed for 10 years; Proviso to Section 18(4).
Restoration: After 6 months and within 1 year from expiry; prescribed form and fee; Registrar must be satisfied it is just; Section 18(5). Only where removal was for non-payment of the prescribed fee. Restoration may carry conditions or limitations.
Effect of removal on later applications: Removed GI treated as still on the register for 1 year after removal; Section 19. Applies to any application for another GI, unless no bona fide trade use in the two years before removal, or no deception or confusion would arise.
Rights conferred by registration: Proprietor + authorised user: relief for infringement. Authorised user: exclusive right to use; Section 21(1), if the registration is valid and subject to the Act.
Registration as authorised user: Any person claiming to be a producer of the goods may apply to the Registrar, with a statement, documents and fee; Section 17. Filing, examination, acceptance, advertisement, opposition and registration provisions apply as for a GI.

How to solve Effect, Duration and Renewal of Registration questions

Most questions here are fact-based: a date, a missed renewal or a dispute between users. Use the same path each time.

1Identify the person: registered proprietor, authorised user, or a producer who is not yet registered.
2Name the right in issue: relief for infringement, exclusive use, renewal, removal or restoration.
3State the rule with its section: Section 21 for rights, Section 17 for authorised users, Section 18 for duration and renewal.
4Mark the dates on a timeline: expiry, plus six months, plus one year. Place the facts on it.
5Apply the rule to the facts, checking conditions, limitations and the 'whichever is earlier' test.
6Write a clear conclusion: renewed, removed or restored, and what the person can still do.

Quickest way: Timeline method for renewal questions

When to use it: Use when a question gives expiry and application dates and asks whether the GI survives.

Write the expiry date of the last registration.
Mark expiry plus six months. Application with fee and surcharge by then: no removal, renewed for ten years.
Mark expiry plus one year. If removed, restoration application falls after six months and within one year: Registrar restores if satisfied it is just.
If the application falls after one year, the Act gives no restoration route. State this.
Add that renewal always runs ten years from the expiry of the last registration.

Common mistakes in Effect, Duration and Renewal of Registration

Saying the proprietor has the exclusive right to use the GI.
Students copy the trade mark idea that the owner alone uses the mark.
Fix: Under Section 21(1)(b), the exclusive right to use belongs to the authorised user. The proprietor and authorised users can both seek relief for infringement.
Giving an authorised user a flat ten-year term.
Students remember only the ten-year figure.
Fix: Add the limit: ten years or until the GI's registration expires, whichever is earlier (Section 18(2)).
Mixing up the six-month late renewal window and the restoration window.
Both involve six months and a fee.
Fix: Late renewal is within six months of expiry with a surcharge, and no removal happens. Restoration comes after removal, after six months and within one year.
Treating restoration as automatic.
Students assume paying the fee is enough.
Fix: The Registrar must be satisfied it is just to restore, and may impose conditions or limitations.
Forgetting Section 19 and saying a removed GI is free for anyone to register at once.
Students stop at removal.
Fix: For one year after removal, the GI is deemed still on the register for another GI application. The exceptions are no bona fide trade use in the two years before removal, or no likely deception or confusion.
Saying two authorised users of similar GIs each get exclusive rights against the other by registration.
Students read exclusive right as absolute.
Fix: Under Section 21(3), registration alone gives neither exclusivity against the other. Each has the same rights against others as a sole authorised user.

Worked examples

Example 1

The registration of a GI for a handloom textile expired on 1 March. The registered proprietor applied for renewal on 15 June of the same year in the prescribed form, paying the prescribed fee and surcharge. Can the Registrar remove the GI? For how long is it renewed?

Show the solution

Rule: under the proviso to Section 18(4), the Registrar shall not remove the GI if the application, fee and surcharge come within six months of expiry.
Window: six months from 1 March ends on 1 September.
Facts: the application on 15 June is within the window, and the form, fee and surcharge are complete.
Effect: the Registrar must renew under Section 18(3) for ten years from the expiry of the last registration.

Answer: The Registrar cannot remove the GI. Registration is renewed for ten years, counted from the expiry of the last registration (1 March).

Example 2

A GI for a spice was removed from the register for non-payment of the renewal fee. The registration had expired on 1 January. On 1 October of that year, the proprietor applies in the prescribed form with the prescribed fee for restoration. Is restoration possible? What is the position if the application were made 14 months after expiry?

Show the solution

Rule: Section 18(5) allows restoration after six months and within one year from expiry, where removal was for non-payment of the prescribed fee.
Window: after 1 July and within one year, which ends on 1 January of the next year.
Facts: 1 October is nine months after expiry, so it is inside the window.
Condition: the Registrar must be satisfied that it is just to restore. He may impose conditions or limitations. Restoration is for ten years from expiry of the last registration.
Alternative: at 14 months the application is outside the one-year limit. Section 18(5) gives no right of restoration then.
Note Section 19: for one year after removal, the GI counts as on the register against another GI application, subject to its two exceptions.

Answer: At nine months, the Registrar may restore the GI if satisfied it is just, with or without conditions, and renew it for ten years from expiry. At fourteen months, restoration under Section 18(5) is not available.

Exam tips

Draw a small timeline for any date-based question. It shows the examiner you know both six-month and one-year windows.
Always name the section: 17 for authorised users, 18 for duration, 19 for effect of removal, 21 for rights.
Keep the proprietor and authorised user apart. Questions often test who holds the exclusive right of use.
Use the exact phrase 'whichever is earlier' for the authorised user's term.
End each answer with a one-line conclusion, as ICSI answers expect.

Practice questions from Law relating to Geographical Indications of Goods

Effect, Duration and Renewal of Registration: frequently asked questions

How long does a GI registration last in India?

It lasts ten years. It can be renewed for ten years at a time, counted from the expiry of the last registration (Section 18). The Registrar sends a notice before expiry about the date and renewal conditions.

Who gets the exclusive right to use a registered GI?

The authorised user gets the exclusive right to use the GI for the registered goods (Section 21(1)(b)). It is subject to any condition or limitation on the registration. The proprietor and authorised users can both seek relief for infringement.

Who can apply to be an authorised user?

Any person claiming to be a producer of the goods for which the GI is registered (Section 17). The application goes to the Registrar with a statement, documents and the prescribed fee. It follows the same filing, examination, advertisement and opposition steps as a GI application.

What if the renewal date is missed?

Apply within six months of expiry, with the prescribed form, fee and surcharge, and the Registrar cannot remove the GI. If it was already removed for non-payment, apply after six months and within one year for restoration (Section 18(5)).

Can a GI be assigned or transmitted?

The text of the Act supplied for this page does not deal with assignment or transmission. Do not state a section for it from this topic. Use the rights in Sections 17, 18 and 21 and check your ICSI study material on transfer.