Peru & Chile face-off in India: by Mr. Rajendra Kumar, RKR & Partners | Intellectual Property Attorneys
The question whether PISCO is a homonym or a transborder GI between Peru and Chile came up for determination in a long-running legal dispute between Peru and Chile in India going back to 2005. After a long saga of 19 years, on July 7, 2025, the High Court of Delhi held that PISCO is a homonymous geographical indication shared between the two countries, and both could co-exist as ‘Peruvian Pisco’ and ‘Chilean Pisco’ to prevent any public confusion. This may not be the final word yet as Peru still has the option to file a further final appeal to the Supreme Court of India.
It may be worth recalling the factual journey of this interesting saga:
On 29 September 2005, Peru filed an application for PISCO as a geographical indication under India’s GI law, claiming exclusive rights in the designation as a product of Peruvian origin. A technical expert committee set up to examine the application – based on the specifications for Pisco Peru which had conferred protection at the national level – recommended that PISCO was eligible for protection as a geographical indication. The application thus came to be accepted and published for third party opposition on 1 August 2006.
