NTT Law Ministry Prepares Two Ende Products for Geographical Indication Status

The East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) Regional Office of the Ministry of Law (Kemenkum NTT) is preparing Ubi Nuabosi and Pisang Baranga from Ende Regency as prospective Geographical Indication (GI) products to strengthen regional intellectual property protection. Head of the NTT Ministry of Law Regional Office, Silvester Sili Laba, stated in Kupang on Tuesday that his office is not only focused on supervising registered products but also continues to encourage the emergence of new GI products from various regions in NTT. “Ende Regency has enormous potential. Apart from the widely recognised Tenun Ikat Ende, there are still superior products such as Ubi Nuabosi and Pisang Baranga that deserve to be pushed for GI protection,” he said. According to him, the more regional products that obtain GI protection, the greater the opportunities for increasing economic added value, competitiveness, and community welfare. This effort is carried out through supervisory assistance activities for the Registered GI of Tenun Ikat Ende, involving the NTT Ministry of Law Regional Office, the Directorate General of Intellectual Property (DJKI), the GI Expert Team, the Regional Development Planning Agency (Bappeda) of Ende Regency, and the Industry and Trade Office of Ende Regency. During the coordination, the parties agreed on preparations for field supervision of Tenun Ikat Ende, including determining locations, supervision objects, supporting documents, and support from the Ende Regency Government during the supervision process. The team also evaluated the utilisation of the GI status for Tenun Ikat Ende to ensure the quality, characteristics, and reputation of the product remain in accordance with the GI description document, thereby preserving the product’s identity and authenticity. Additionally, the coordination resulted in the initial identification of Ubi Nuabosi and Pisang Baranga as distinctive commodities of Ende Regency with the potential to obtain GI protection because they possess characteristics influenced by local geographical conditions. The NTT Ministry of Law Regional Office is also exploring the establishment of an Intellectual Property Centre in Ende Regency as a coordination platform for intellectual property management, while supporting the integration of intellectual property protection with regional development programmes and community innovation. Silvester further emphasised that GI supervision is an important part of ensuring that every product that has received a certificate continues to maintain the quality and distinctive characteristics that form the basis of its legal protection. “A Geographical Indication is not merely a certificate, but a guarantee of the quality, authenticity, and reputation of a product born from its regional uniqueness. Therefore, supervision must be carried out continuously so that its economic benefits are truly felt by the community, especially business actors and artisans,” he stated.