An official of Nepal Pashmina Manufacturers´ Association (NPMA) said the problem surfaced due mainly to the absence of any provision in the existing laws on trade registration under a group or an association.
The trademark has already been registered in Norway, the EU, Japan and Australia, but lack of necessary laws has hindered the registration process in Nepal itself.
Decades old Copyright, Patent and Trademark Act allows only a manufacturing entity to register trademark for its products, whereas the association is trying to get it registered as a national trademark that will certify that the product is manufactured in Nepal, irrespective of who produced it.
“We managed to get the registration through in overseas countries, but, unfortunately, failed to do so in our own country,” said Shankar Pandey, the president of NPMA, under whose aegis the manufacturers are collectively establishing intellectual property rights for Nepali Pashmina, so that manufacturers across the world could not counterfeit it.
To do away with the problem, Department of Industry has recently drafted a directive that opens the registration of trademark by a group or association. “The Ministry of Industry is planning to enforce it through a minister-level decision, mainly on ground of country´s international commitment to protection of intellectual property rights,” said a source.
Pashmina is a prime Nepali commodity that has carved out a niche market among posh consumers around the world.
To secure its market, NPMA has already registered the trademark in Norway, the European Union, Japan and Australia. It is also set to get a trademark certification from the United States and Switzerland, said Madhu Babu Adhikari, officer at NPMA.
The registration has established pashmina, a Nepali name for the finest fur extract of mountain goats, as a typical Nepali product and defined pashmina items as commodities that have well-defined material content and traits.
Adhikari further told myrepublica.com that the association will soon launch the trademark so that it could be enforced on all pashmina exports.
With its enforcement, NPMA expects Nepal will be able to reclaim its lost pashmina market substantially. “As the US, the EU and Japan are the three largest markets of Nepali pashmina, registration of trademark there will safeguard the exports from counterfeit and substandard products, giving a new boost to its exports,” said Pandey.
Nepali pashmina items had gained sudden acclaim in the international market and carved out niche markets in late 1990s after fashion magazines associated the product with high-profile personalities, including the UK´s royalties. That exposure soon boosted pashmina´s exports to over Rs 7 billion in 2000 and expanded its market to as many as 75 countries.
However, failure in maintaining its quality, coupled with the aggressive marketing of cashmere products as pashmina by India and China, soon started to displace Nepali exports, dragging Nepali exports down to a mere half a billion rupee in 2008/09.
Furthermore, because Indian and Chinese manufacturers heavily use viscose yarn, acrylic wool, soybean fiber and poly-yarn in their “pashmina” products, and that ultimately dented the image of actual Nepali pashmina.
“With the trademark, now no foul players will be able to mislead the buyers and also compel us to adhere to stipulated quality. This will help us expand our market," said Pandey.
milan@myrepublica.com
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