The lost “Yichang Black Tea” trademark is recovery. The reporter learned from Yichang Administration for Industry & Commerce on April 24th that Yichang Black Tea Association in Yidu city has received the ruling from the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board (TRAD) of State Administration for Industry & Commerce of the People’s Republic of China registering that “Yichang Black Tea” trademark is approval of registration. It marks the successful recovery of “Yichang Black Tea” geographical indication trademark after the finally administrative decisions through five years efforts.

As a traditional industry in Yichang, “Yichang Black Tea” enjoyed the same renown with Qimen Black Tea and Yunnan Black Tea in history and owned a high reputation in China and overseas countries. At present, the cultivated area of “Yichang Black Tea” is over a million mu, involving millions of tea famers and the total output value is more than 3 billion yuan.  On the government working report of 2016, the city government put forward that they will focus on “enhancing the quality of Green and Black tea, developing the Dark tea” and put the prosperous of Black Tea into the municipal strategy.

 “Yichang Black Tea” is a black tea brand with distinctive characteristics of geographical indication in Yichang, which is similar to “Zigui navel orange”. However, it was once registered as the goods marks by the ecdemic firms. On March of 2011, Yichang Black Tea Association in Yidu city applied for registering the certification mark of geographical indications of “Yichang Black Tea” and “Yichang Black and Kung Fu Tea”. During the announcement, an enterprise in Wuhan raised an objection for the order of the registration of commodity trademark. Through a great number of historical and real data on organization of reply, trademark oppositions and dispute to carry out right-defending action, Yichang Black Tea Association has received the approval of registering from Trademark Office of the State Administration for Industry & Commerce of the People’s Republic of China in July, 2013. The enterprise of Wuhan subsequently raised objections and demanded reviewing. On March 2016, TRAD heard the reexamination of the objection of “Yichang Black Tea” according to law. The committee thought that the objection is untenable and approved the registration of Yichang Black Tea Association’s certification mark of geographical indications to benefit one million tea farmers and the people in producing region, maintain century reputation, and promote the rapid development of Yichang Black Tea industry.

With the full support of Provincial and Municipal Government, “Yichang Black Tea” geography trademark was successfully taken back. The registration of “Yichang Black Tea” geographical indication was authorized by Yichang and Yidu city government. It also approved and supported by the Hubei Provincial Peoples Government. Hubei Provincial Peoples Government specially wrote to SAIC, leaders of municipal Party committee and municipal government, the Industrial and Commercial Bureau of Provincial and Municipal and the leaders of Agricultural Bureau went to the State Administration for maintaining the rights more than 10 times, radically solving the problems and facilitating the recovery of the brand finally. Yichang city Industrial and Commercial bureau reminded that we should register the trademark before the sales of the products and make full use of the value of the intangible assets to promote the development of the enterprises and strengthen the protection of the brand by affirming the reputed trademarks. (Reporter Tian Dongming, Correspondent Qin Zaojun)