NEW JUDGMENT ON PATENT

HYDERABAD/TIRUPATI: Here's some sweet news. The famed Tirupati laddu -- the most sought-after prasadam for lakhs of pilgrims who throng Tirumala too joins the ranks of Darjeeling tea, Madhubani paintings and Goa feni after it was granted the Geographical Indication (GI) patent rights. This bars others from naming or marketing the sweetmeat preparation under the same name.

Temple sources said the Tirupati laddu got the patent rights under the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act on Tuesday. The TTD, which manages the Lord Venkateswara temple in Tirumala, had applied for GI with Chennai-based Geographical Indication Registry in March last year to avoid its blackmarketing by hawkers and middlemen.

"The laddu is now protected under law and nobody can copy it,'' G L Verma, assistant registrar of trademarks and GI, said. Under GI, the right to market a product is tied to a definite geographical territory and the manufactured goods should be produced or processed or prepared in that territory. P H Kurian, controller-general of patents designs and trademarks, also confirmed granting of GI status to the Tirupati laddu.

The Tirupati laddu is the popular name for Srivari laddu, which is offered as prasadam to the devotees after they worship the Lord. "The laddus are not produced anywhere in the world and are very unique in terms of quality, reputation and other characteristics which go into its making,'' a TTD official said.

"The laddu prasadam came into being in the early 1920s, though some temple priests claim that it existed even before the 17th century,'' a former official said. One 175 gm laddu costs Rs 25 now.

Around 1.5 lakh laddus are made daily and the annual revenue from sales is a whopping Rs 2 crore. Potu (kitchen) workers said 5,000 kg of besan flour, over 10,000 kg sugar, 1,000 kg cashewnuts, 350 kg cardamom, about 500 kg ghee, 500 kg sugar candy and 750 kg of raisins go into the preparation of laddus everyday.

Primarily there are two types of laddus -- small and big. A small laddu weighs 175 grams whereas the big one weighs 700 grams. The big one comes with a Rs 1,000 kalyanam puja.

Popular items that have been granted GI tag world over include champagne and tequilla. The procedure helps in preventing others from surreptitiously exploiting a brand name that has evolved over a period of time. Sources said the GI status also provides legal protection and facilitates for action in case of infringement.

Source:  THE TIMES OF INDIA.