Intellectual Property Rights- Darjeeling Tea

Presented by:-Abhishek NathAsif Ateeque NezamiIshitha DassNikhil Ranjan Saptarishi Bagchi

Without Darjeeling, Tea would be like Wine without the prestige of Champagne.

Introduction

• Darjeeling – a district of West Bengal, India.

• Since about 1835, tea has been cultivated, grown and produced in the State.

• The tea produced in this region has a distinctive quality and flavor.

• It has long been known to the trade and the public in India and abroad as Darjeeling Tea.

• It has acquired domestic and international reputation.

Present Scenario

• 86 running gardens producing ‘Darjeeling Tea’ on a total area of 19,000 hectares.

• Total production - 10 to 11 million kilograms annually.

• 52 thousand people working on a permanent basis

• 15,000 persons are engaged during the plucking season which lasts from March to November.

• Work force consists of 60 percent women.

Manufacturing

Plucking

Sorting & Packing

Drying

Fermentation

Withering Rolling

Plucking

• The smallest shoots, comprising of two leaves and a bud are plucked. It requires 22,000 such shoots, all plucked by hand - to produce 1 Kg. of Tea. In attaining this high plucking standard, the hilly terrain, makes the task even more difficult.

• The special Darjeeling flavors is generated from the very fine plucking standard.

Withering

• During this process, the green leaves are evenly spread on troughs, through which hot & cold air are blown in a regulated manner.

• The object is to remove moisture in the leaf slowly over a period of 14 - 16 hours.

Rolling

• The withered leaves are loaded into rollers where they are twisted by a mechanical action.

• The process is carefully monitored so that the style of the leaf is maintained and overheating does not take place.

Fermentation

• After Rolling, the leaf is spread in a cool & humid room in very thin layers.

• The process lasts between 2- 4 hours, depending on temperature, humidity and leaf quality.

• During the process the tea develops a unique flavour and aroma. The Tea Makers sensory judgment is critical to quality of the liquor.

Drying

• The fermented leaf is taken to a dryer, where it is subjected to regulated varying temperature for a period of 20 - 30 min.

• The result is black tea whose moisture has been lost after natural fermentation is checked.

Sorting and Packing

• This is the final stage, where the tea is graded according to the size and packed in specially designed foil lined packages.

• Tasting is done by special tasters to differentiate and bring out the best one.

• Selling is done through auction system. The auctioneer decides the selling price of the Tea.

Tasting and Selling

Legal Aspects

Tea Board of India

• All teas produced in the tea growing areas of India are administered by the Tea Board of India under the Tea Act, 1953.

• It is not involved in the manufacture of any product.• Its functions are

– to regulate the production and cultivation of Indian tea– to improve the quality of Indian tea– to improve the marketing of Indian tea within India and abroad

Intellectual properties of Tea Board of India

• The objective of the Tea Board, under the Darjeeling Certification Trade Mark Protection Scheme, is to put in place a mechanism to ensure the supply chain integrity for DARJEELING tea.

• three above marks are widely known as Specialty Tea Logos or Certificate Trade Marks.

• The CTM Logos have been registered under Trademark Laws of various international jurisdictions.

Geographical Indication

• A GI is a name, sign used on goods to indicate and certify that these originate from a specific geographical origin and possess certain characteristics, qualities, or reputation that are essentially attributable to the stated geographical origin.

• Darjeeling tea has a distinctive and naturally occurring quality and flavor which has won accolades all over the world.

• Tea Board is the owner of all intellectual property rights (IPR) in the Darjeeling word and logo, both in common law and under the provisions of the Trade Marks Act 1999, Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration & Protection) Act, 1999 and Copyright Act, 1957.

Certification Trade Mark

• Trade mark indicates trade origin. It serves the purpose of distinguishing the goods of one trader from those of other traders.

• A certification trade mark(CTM) is to indicate that the goods on which it is impressed have been certified by some competent person in respect of some characteristic of the goods like origin, composition, mode of manufacture, or quality.

• Three main features of CTM:• it must be adapted to serve the special purpose.• the person certifying the goods as to any particular quality or

characteristic or origin must be competent for the purpose.• the use of such mark must be regulated by suitably framed

rules to prevent its abuse.

Darjeeling Tea Logo

• The logo consists of the word DARJEELING and a representation of an Indian woman holding tea leaves, all arranged in a roundel.

• In its aesthetic combination of the word DARJEELING with the woman device, the DARJEELING logo created by the Tea Board has made Darjeeling tea a geographical indication for a uniquely flavored tea coming from the district of Darjeeling in India.

Darjeeling Tea Logo

• The said DARJEELING logo has been extensively used by all producers, packeteers and exporters of Darjeeling tea, under license and authority of the Tea Board.

• The Tea Board will license persons who wish to use the Certification Marks ("authorized users") if it is satisfied that those persons will only use the Marks in relation to tea conforming to appropriate standards and coming from the Darjeeling area.

Steps taken in order to protect Darjeeling tea under TRIPS

• In 1998, World Wide Watch agency CompuMark was appointed to monitor conflicting marks. Instances of attempted registration were found, some of which were challenged through opposition and cancellations and sometimes negotiations. Of the 15 instances, 5 have been successfully concluded in countries such as Japan, Srilanka, Russia etc. 6 oppositions were unsuccessful and 4 are still pending decision Use by BULGARI, Switzerland of the legend “ Darjeeling Tea fragrance for men” agreed to be withdrawn pursuant to legal notice and negotiations.

• The Indian Geographical Indication of Goods (Registration & Protection) Act 1999 is a specific Act covering the registration and protection of Geographical Indications. After the Act came into force on 15th Sept.03, the Tea Board has filed an application for registration of Darjeeling tea as a “GI”.

Steps taken in order to protect Darjeeling tea under TRIPS

• The Tea Board of India started working hard on necessary steps in 1997. Already in 1986 the Darjeeling logo was created and registered in U.K., U.S.A., Canada, Japan, Egypt and under Madrid, covering eight countries.

• The Tea Board has obtained “home protection” by registering a Darjeeling logo and also the word “Darjeeling” as a Certification Trade Mark under the Indian Trade and Merchandise Marks Act, 1958.

• Denton Wilde Sapte, a major U.K. law firm, appointed by the Tea Board to advise on administration of Darjeeling certification system worldwide Awareness generation at all IPR forums, WIPO conventions.

Bibliography

• Websites referred:• www.darjeelingtea.com• jpn.cec.eu.int•  www.economictimes.indiatimes.com• www.kyelateas.com• www.agarmettea.com• pib.nic.in

THANK YOU