Sri Lanka has registered a claim locally for intellectual property protection for Ceylon tea under global 'Geographical Indicators' rules that would help market its main export product, a senior official said.The government has also registered the logo for ozone friendly pure Ceylon tea to certify its tea is grown without use of any ozone depletion substances, Tea Board director - promotions Hasitha De Alwis said.
"We have to register the GI claim and ozone logo locally with the National Intellectual Property Office before we register them overseas," he told LBO in an interview.
The government also plans to locally register the island's seven tea growing regions under GI indicators in January, De Alwis said.
Sri Lanka has for years been seeking GI protection under the World Trade Organisation intellectual property rights rules known as the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).
The industry is keen on getting the GI recognition as it could be used as a marketing tool, like French wines which were among the first products to be registered under the WTO regime.
The seven tea growing areas for which GI recognition is also sought are Nuwara Eliya, Dimbula, Uva, Udapusellawa, Kandy, Ruhuna and Sabaragamuwa, in the island's central hills and southern districts.The rules for geographical indicators enable registration of products based on defined growing areas as well as distinct product characteristics.
Registration of the ozone friendly pure Ceylon tea logo will help market the product as an environmentally friendly one.
Sri Lanka has stopped using methyl bromide, an ozone depletion substance that had been used in pest management after adopting alternative environment friendly technologies for which it received the 'Montréal Protocol Implementers Award' in 2007.
That allowed the country to market Ceylon tea worldwide as an environmentally friendly and ozone friendly product.
Tea Board should take immeditae action to prevent Ceylon Tea logo being used by unscrupulous businessmen to promote inferior teas blended with Pure Ceylon Tea.
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