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23 July 2014Trademarks

Rooibos tea secures GI status in EU

Rooibos tea, one of South Africa’s most famous exports, has been granted geographical indication (GI) status in the EU, eNews Channel Africa has reported.

South Africa’s Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies was quoted as saying in the report: “It will be the rooibos tea manufacturers of South Africa which will have ownership of that particular name and that term will be applicable only to products that come from and are approved by us.”

Joanne van Harmelen, a senior associate at ENSafrica in Cape Town, said that Rooibos has always been an appropriate candidate for geographical indication status: “It is only grown in a certain part of the world, the unique characteristics of the plant are as a result of the climatic and geographic conditions where it occurs, and there is traditional knowledge in existence about the plant, the way it is to be cultivated, harvested and processed and its beneficial properties.”

She added that there are many benefits to securing geographical status, not just for the rooibos manufacturers who will have ownership of the name, but also from a trade perspective.

“The reciprocity between the EU and South Africa in terms of the economic partnership agreement is beneficial,” she said.

“Europe has used geographical indication protection as a means to increase the price of certain unique local produce and South Africa can hope to do the same.”

She added that along with geographical indication status comes quality assurance of the product.

Rooibos has been the subject of several IP disputes as it gains popularity outside its home country. Most recently, French company Compagnie De Trucy tried to register the word ‘Rooibos’ as a trademark for beverages, which was strongly opposed by South Africa’s Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) last year.

In February, the DTI declared Rooibos a prohibited mark under the country’s Merchandise Marks Act, making unauthorised use of the mark a criminal offence.

Traditional Knowledge legislation is now in force in South Africa, which has introduced the concept of a geographical indication.

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Trademarks
29 July 2013   The government of South Africa has objected to an application to register the word ‘Rooibos’ as a trademark for selling tea in France.