Traditional Performing Art: A ‘Vanishing Point of Jurisprudence’ Vis-À-Vis Geographical Indications

In the given legal regime vis-à-vis geographical indications (hereafter GI) under the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999, followed by the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Rules, 2002, services are not subjected to the given GI regime while there is potential space to cover the same with legal reasoning and with reference to performing arts and practices under the umbrella of traditional cultural expression (TCE); so maintained and developed primarily by the tribal population in India since time immemorial. With reference to intellectual property (hereafter IP) governance, the author hereby explores the IP jurisprudence and thereby strives to advance arguendo- with reasoning- that ideation vis-à-vis geographical indications need not necessarily relate to goods alone and may at ease get extended to services; if the same serves public good. Here there is vacuum- if not void- in the GI regime; something similar to what went narrated as ‘vanishing point of Jurisprudence’, to quote Holland, since the regime remains silent while traditional performing arts and other practices are subjected to commercialization without consent of the community anyway; with ‘Poverty of Philosophy’ (Marx, 1847) to get coverage of the GI regime extended to traditional cultural expressions. The author concludes that the GI regime needs restatement to safeguard intangible cultural heritage of ‘the wonder that was India’ (by courtesy, Basham, 1954); thereby ascertain conservation of the civilizational tributaries sustained by original population of the soil. Thus, TCE ought to get construed as cultural heritage and, as policy choice, resort to the GI way appears a need of the hour toward mutual convenience of regional traditional art practitioners and the audience entertained by the performance. A mutual balance of interests for both sides ought to get traditional performing art (TPA) fortified by default.