LETTER: Harumanis, the well known fruit from Perlis, is the talk of the town again, with the discussion centred on the name "Harumanis Perlis". This concerns a branch of intellectual property law called Geographical Indication, which is governed by the Geographical Indication Act 2000.
Section 2 of the act defines this terminology as an indication that identifies a product as originating in a specific territory, where a given quality and reputation of the product is primarily attributable to its geographical origin. The product's reputation and premium quality are influenced by soil and climate characteristics, as well as the human factor.
In Malaysia, the well-known (and registered) geographical indications include Sarawak Pepper, Songket Terengganu, Kek Lapis Sarawak, Halia Bentong and Harumanis Perlis.
Concerning Harumanis Perlis, the Malaysian Intellectual Property Office (MyIPO) had certified it as a protected geographical indication in 2011 and also acknowledged Jabatan Pertanian Negeri Perlis (JPNP) as the registered proprietor of the same. By virtue of Section 21 of the act, local growers and producers shall have the right to use the said geographical indication in the course of trade and business.
However, it should be emphasised that this law does not prevent other parties from growing such mangoes in places other than Perlis. But in such a situation, those parties are not allowed to market the products under the tradename "Harumanis Perlis" as such privilege is given only to the growers and producers carrying out the activity in the geographical area specified in the Register.
Just as stated, the geographical indication "Harumanis Perlis" indicates that such mangoes are actually and harvested in Perlis with specific standard and guidelines issued by the authority.
Therefore, it will be confusing if those parties are allowed to use the name. On that basis, the law prohibits the use of "Harumanis Perlis" for mangoes grown outside the gazetted territory.
From a broader perspective, the law on geographical indication indirectly helps local growers and producers to create employment opportunities and generate additional sources of income.
Most importantly, the law aims at protecting the public from being deceived by those who try to free-ride the reputation associated with well-known products.
In the case of trademark, for instance, there are goods sold under the name "Adibas" (instead of Adidas). The same observation and reasoning are applied in the protection of Harumanis Perlis as a certified geographical indication. That is to acknowledge the reputation of the product and protect the interests of the local growers, as well as the consumers.
MUHAMAD HELMI
MUHAMAD KHAIR
LAW LECTURER, UITM,
NEGRI SEMBILAN
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times