Company sued for use of 'Longjing' trademark

The Zhejiang Agricultural Technology Promotion Center has sued a tea company in Jiangsu province for using its "Longjing Tea" trademark without authorization, in the latest effort by the center to protect its well-established green tea brand in China.

Lu Debiao, an official at the center under the agricultural administration in Zhejiang province, said that Changzhou Kakoo Tea Co had infringed on the center's exclusive rights to the "Longjing Tea" trademark and "had a very bad effect" on the brand.

A district court in Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang, heard the case last week but has not yet ruled, according to local media.

The Trademark Office of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce approved the registration of "Longjing Tea" by the center as a geographical indication certification trademark in 2008.

Such a trademark is controlled by an agency responsible for supervising goods with the mark and can be used, with approval, by other organizations and individuals to indicate the source of the goods, according to the trademark law.

The center has canceled the rights of about 50 companies to use the "Longjing Tea" trademark, including 35 last year, "mainly because they did not apply for reuse after the authorization expired", said an official at the Zhejiang agricultural administration.

An insider at the center said companies need to apply to use the "Longjing Tea" trademark, but can use it for free. At present, 352 companies have the right to use the trademark.

The legal production areas of "Longjing Tea" include four cities in Zhejiang - Hangzhou, Shaoxing, Jinhua and Taizhou.

To protect the trademark, the provincial agricultural authority plans to ask government agencies including the administration for industry and commerce to investigate and punish those who make and sell fake "Longjing Tea", local media reported.

Lu from the promotion center said they are collecting evidence and aim to guide makers of Longjing tea to produce it based on national standards.

The center also applied to register the trademark in 43 countries and regions and received a registration certificate from the Madrid system for the international registration of marks, as well as approval notices from other countries including Spain, Italy, Germany and the United States.

Government agencies in Zhejiang are carrying out a campaign that lasts until July to supervise the quality of Longjing tea and the use of the trademark in the legal production areas of the tea. When the campaign ends, they will publish a list of businesses that have the right to use the trademark.

Longjing tea originates from Longjing village near West Lake, a noted scenic spot in Hangzhou.

Tea makers in Zhejiang produced 24,000 tons of Longjing tea in 2014 and the output value was 3.8 billion yuan ($611 million), Zhejiang Daily reported.

songmengxing@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 04/15/2015 page17)