Without protection of ideas, business and individuals would not reap the full benefits of their inventions. And this would discourage focus on research and development.
So in an effort to foster innovation and creativity by providing through appropriate legislations, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MoEA) released the National Intellectual Property Policy 2018, today.
The policy includes a new system called the geographical indication. It is a name or a sign used on products, which corresponds to a specific town, region or country. Geographical indication may act as a certification for products such as traditional textile designs.
“We know that our traditional designs are quite region specific in the sense that if you look at kishuthara we know that it comes from Lhuentse. So if you look at the Bumthang mathra, Bumthang of course obviously is the place where this famed textile design originated,” said the Director General of Dept. of Intellectual Property, Kinley Tenzin Wangchuk.
He added: “So we feel that to an extent geographical indication might be the appropriate regime to include the protection of our designs. We will see how best we can integrate and cover concerns that are of relevance need of our different traditions and designs.”
The policy is expected to prevent and minimise misappropriation of textile designs for commercial purpose. It will also capitalise on the economic value of products and services developed on the traditional practices.
