IPR attorney helps get 10 products GI status

Of the 18 Tamil Nadu products enjoying GI security as on date, at least 10 of them got the status because of the efforts of Chennai-based advocate and IPR attorney P Sanjai Gandhi.
An attorney trained in India and Japan, Sanjai Gandhi has now taken forward the GI security of Kancheepuram Silk Sarees to the next level by getting the authorisation for 21 cooperative silk societies in Kancheepuram besides 10 individual weavers. "I hope to do the same in the case of the remaining GI-tagged products from Tamil Nadu," he said.
The 10 products for which IPR attorney Sanjai Gandhi has obtained GI protection are: Kancheepuram Silk Sarees, Bhavani Jamukkalam (bedsheet), Madurai Sungudi Saree, Salem White Silk, Kovai Kora Cotton, Arni Silk, Thanjavur Paintings, Thanjavur Dancing Doll, Ethomozhi Tall Coconut of Kanyakumari district and Tangalia Shawl of Gujarat.
Right now, he is processing four more products for GI tag. They are: Nachiar Temple Kuthuvilakku (bronze lamp), Pathamadai Mat, Thanjavur Veena and Thoda Tribal Embroidery.
In the case of Thoda Tribal Embroidery, Sanjai Gandhi has raised objections on behalf of the handlooms department after coming to know that certain NGOs had taken steps to get GI tag for themselves. "Without the involvement of a state government department, the scarce and precious tribal embroidery would be at the mercy of individuals or associations. Now that we have protested, the government department is all set to become co-registered proprietors along with the NGOs who initiated the process first," says the IPR attorney