APEDA to be empowered for IPR protection: Cabinet

New Delhi, May 15 (UNI) Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) will be made the statutory body for registration and protection of intellectual property rights (IPR), including geographical indications in respect of special products.

This will be done by amending the APEDA Act. The decision was taken at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today, Finance Minister P Chidambaram told reporters.

Initially, basmati rice would be brought under the proposal and subsequently other special products would be included in the scheduled list.

The move has been necessitated due to a provision in the TRIPS (trade related intellectual property rights) agreement which stipulates that any agricultural and natural product that did not have domestic protection in the country of the origin could not have IPR in other countries.

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