Tirumala- Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams is all set to successfully enforce its Geographical Indications Rights for the Tirupati laddu, which is the prasadam of the Lord. So popular are the Tirupati laddus among the devotees, that small sweet shops across South India try to cash in on the sentiments by selling laddus with names similar to the Tirupati laddu.
The temple administration had been trying to enforce its rights under the Geographical Indications, which was facilitated by CII’s AP Technology Development and Promotion Centre and was accorded in September 2009. However, in 2013, when the TTD came to know that Ganga Sweets in Chennai was making laddus similar to the Tirupati laddu and advertising for the same through its website, the TTD filed a civil suit in the Madras HC, seeking to restrain the Ganga Sweets and others from using the name ‘Tirupati Laddu’. TTD maintained that it was the original manufacturer of the Tirupati laddu for which it was granted GI protection. On February 25, 2014, the Madras HC passed an order decreeing the suit, confirming the rights of a registered GI.
