VOA常速英语2008年-India, Pakistan Fight Over Patent for Kashmir P

By Shahnawaz Khan
Srinagar
11 February 2008

After disputing control of Kashmir for more than six decades, India and Pakistan are now engaged in a squabble over a patent for Kashmir Pashmina, a product experts say is the best of its kind. Shahnawaz Khan reports from Srinigar.

Pashmina, or Cashmere, as it is generally known in the West, originated in Kashmir, and is still regarded by many as better than similar products from neighboring Himalayan regions. Although often regarded as synonymous with Cashmere, Kashmir's Pashmina is also different from its Australian variant¹.

Indian efforts to get a Geographical² Indicator³ Patent registered for Kashmir Pashmina have hit a snag with opposition⁴ from neighboring Pakistan.

In August 2006, the GI patent registry, based in the south Indian city of Chennai, accepted an application from the Craft Development Institute for a location-specific patent for Kashmir Pashmina.

The Craft Development Institute is located in Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian administered Kashmir, and is backed by the Indian government.

But, Pakistan objects to the application and demands that Pashmina produced in its portion of Kashmir be included in the patent.

Muhammad Shariq Farooqi heads the Craft Development Institute in Srinagar. He explains the need for a Kashmir Pashmina patent.

"Pashmina has become a generic⁵ name. Nepal says it is producing Pashmina," Farooqi said. "China says it is producing Pashmina. We should have protected the name earlier. So we are already late. The application should have gone ten years earlier."

A lack of product standards also makes a patent important.

"Because of becoming generic it is misused," Farooqi said. "So, something which is not actually of this standardized⁶ specification⁷ is also called Pashmina. So, what is happening is that you are losing a great share of business."

Farooqi says it is up to the patent authorities to decide what items are covered under the patent, but he questions the quality of products produced on the Pakistani side.

"I have seen products from Pakistan. I personally feel that it doesn't have the same quality as is produced in Srinagar," he said. "We have seen things from China, Nepal, they are much of the products which are not entirely⁸ of a manual process."

Kashmir boasts of producing high-quality Pashmina products through a tedious, traditional, manual process that originated here.

The Kashmiri handicraft industry has been hurt by years of conflict as well as competition from lower-priced products and fakes. Further delay in getting a geographically⁹ specific patent will likely mean more hardship for Kashmir's Pashmina business.

1 variant   

adj.不同的，变异的；n.变体，异体

参考例句：

• We give professional suggestions according to variant tanning stages for each customer.我们针对每位顾客不同的日晒阶段，提供强度适合的晒黑建议。
• In a variant of this approach,the tests are data- driven.这个方法的一个变种，是数据驱动的测试。

2 geographical   

adj.地理的；地区(性)的

参考例句：

• The current survey will have a wider geographical spread.当前的调查将在更广泛的地域范围內进行。
• These birds have a wide geographical distribution.这些鸟的地理分布很广。

3 indicator   

n.指标；指示物，指示者；指示器

参考例句：

• Gold prices are often seen as an indicator of inflation.黃金价格常常被看作是通货膨胀的指标。
• His left-hand indicator is flashing.他左手边的转向灯正在闪亮。

4 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

5 generic   

adj.一般的，普通的，共有的

参考例句：

• I usually buy generic clothes instead of name brands.我通常买普通的衣服，不买名牌。
• The generic woman appears to have an extraordinary faculty for swallowing the individual.一般妇女在婚后似乎有特别突出的抑制个性的能力。

6 standardized   

adj.标准化的

参考例句：

• We use standardized tests to measure scholastic achievement. 我们用标准化考试来衡量学生的学业成绩。
• The parts of an automobile are standardized. 汽车零件是标准化了的。

7 specification   

n.详述；[常pl.]规格，说明书，规范

参考例句：

• I want to know his specification of details.我想知道他对细节的详述。
• Examination confirmed that the quality of the products was up to specification.经检查，产品质量合格。

8 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

9 geographically   

adv.地理学上，在地理上，地理方面

参考例句：

• Geographically, the UK is on the periphery of Europe. 从地理位置上讲，英国处于欧洲边缘。 来自辞典例句
• All these events, however geographically remote, urgently affected Western financial centers. 所有这些事件，无论发生在地理上如何遥远的地方，都对西方金融中心产生紧迫的影响。 来自名作英译部分