New Zealand High Court dismisses APEDA’s appeal on trademark rights for ‘Basmati’ rice

New Zealand High Court dismisses APEDA’s appeal on trademark rights for ‘Basmati’ rice

IP lawyer Elena Szentivanyi attributed the rejection to India’s acceptance of the variety as a ‘transnational geographical indication’

The New Zealand High Court has dismissed the appeal filed by India’s Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA). This follows the rejection of its application in July 2024 by New Zealand’s Intellectual Property Office.

Commenting on the development, Elena Szentivanyi, a director at the Henry Hughes Intellectual Property (IP) in Wellington, said that the transnational nature of basmati rice production proved a drawback for APEDA in its appeal before the high court.

APEDA had applied for exclusive certification trademark rights for the rice variety.

While rice growers in other jurisdictions, including Pakistan, also produce basmati rice, ‘Basmati’ is registered as a geographical indication (GI) in India and Pakistan.

Szentivanyi explained, “The Basmati Growing Area (BGA) is a region spanning parts of India and Pakistan where the Himalayan foothills meet the Indo-Gangetic Plain. In seeking to register ‘Basmati’ as a Certification Trade Mark in New Zealand, APEDA accepted that ‘Basmati’ is a ‘transnational geographical indication.’ It was this transnational nature of basmati production that proved to be a stumbling block for the applicant.”

The high court said that since ‘basmati’ referred to a general type of rice, whether grown in India or elsewhere, India could not claim exclusivity over it.

Szentiványi remarked that in the high court, “Justice David Jonathan Boldt found that the registration of ‘Basmati’ as a Certification Mark for rice from India would mean that the name ‘Basmati’ could legitimately be used on certified rice from India and uncertified basmati rice from Pakistan would sit side-by-side on supermarket shelves.”

She added, “Therefore, the mark could not distinguish certified Indian ‘Basmati’ rice from uncertified rice originating in Pakistan. As the mark could not distinguish the goods, His Honor found that the appeal must fail.”

Meanwhile, the court also stated that consumers in New Zealand did not link basmati rice exclusively to India.

In New Zealand, only GIs for wine and spirits are eligible for registration.

However, registration for foreign GIs covering other products, such as basmati rice, is possible under the India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (FTA) of 22 December 2025.

Under the FTA, New Zealand is considering amending the law to allow GI registration of products from India, including basmati rice, other than wines and spirits.

Even as the FTA awaits signing by both parties, Szentiványi pointed out, “The recognition of India’s registered GIs would provide a backdoor way for India to obtain protection of ‘Basmati’ as a GI in New Zealand.”