Pakistan wins Basmati case

According to The Express Tribune, the Ministry of Commerce announced on Wednesday that the Federal Court of Australia has rejected an appeal brought by APEDA, India's export body for agricultural and processed food, in the Basmati trademark dispute. The court also made APEDA responsible for the respondent's legal expenses. The ministry framed the ruling as support for Pakistan's long-held view that Basmati is a geographical indication rather than a term one nation can own.

APEDA had sought to register Basmati as a certification trademark for rice in Australia. An official at Australia's trademarks office refused the application on December 22, 2022, concluding that the word could not separate APEDA-certified rice from rice of the same name sold by rival merchants. APEDA then challenged that decision in the Federal Court, which has now upheld the registrar's view that the rice is also grown in Pakistan, where traders have a comparable right to use the name.

The ministry said the ruling protects the livelihoods of Basmati growers, millers and exporters in Pakistan. It also pledged to keep defending Basmati abroad as part of the country's agricultural heritage. Federal Minister for Commerce Jam Kamal Khan thanked officials and stakeholders for their coordinated efforts and called the result an important achievement.