TITLE: Storm in a Teapot over US Patent on Rooibos AUTHOR: Sivuyile Mangxamba PUBLICATION: Cape Argus (Capetown) DATE: 8 August 2002 SOURCE: AllAfrica.com URL: http://allafrica.com/stories/200208080012.html NOTE: Rooibos tea is made from the leaves of the Aspalathus linearis plant, which grows on the slopes of the Cedarberg mountain range in the Cape Province. Known in South Africa as "Red Bush" because of the color of its leaves, it has been under cultivation for its many health-inducing properties since the 1930s. There are several Japanese patents related to Rooibos (see http://www.grain.org/docs/patentsafrica.doc ) Cape Argus | 8 August 2002 STORM IN A TEAPOT OVER US PATENT ON ROOIBOS Sivuyile Mangxamba Cape Town A legal battle is looming between South Africa's Rooibos Limited and an American company which claims it has registered the word "rooibos" as a trademark in the US. The American company, Burke International, has effectively barred local rooibos tea exporters from marketing in the US under the name "rooibos" unless they sell through Burke. Virginia Burke Watkins, owner of Burke International, told the Cape Argus from Texas that she was the sole owner of the name Rooibos Tea in the United States. "I'm the only one who can distribute rooibos tea over here because I own the Rooibos trademark. "I have spent years and a tremendous amount of money promoting this product here and will not allow other companies to take advantage of this marketing effort," Watkins said. But Rooibos Ltd, the marketing arm of the rooibos tea industry in South Africa, which emerged after the Rooibos Tea Control Board was disbanded in 1993, said yesterday it was seeking legal opinion on the matter. Spokesman SP Tredoux said: "The word 'rooibos' is a generic name for a herbal plant that is unique to South Africa -- to have that trademarked is unbearable, as we ourselves cannot trademark the rooibos name." Local rooibos tea exporters and farmers are also angry about the move, claiming the tea and the name is unique to South Africa and that it should not be possible to register it as a trademark elsewhere. John Mann, of JM Enterprises, a Cape Town company which makes rooibos toiletries, is infuriated by the US trademarking of rooibos. "I can't believe that a generic product has been hijacked by an American company that now prevents me, and no doubt others, from using it as a homegrown product and a homegrown name," he said. It was the indigenous Khoisan in the Cederberg area who first discovered the rooibos bush growing in the area to be a delicious herbal drink and remedy for many ailments. However, Watkins maintains that rooibos tea "was completely unknown to the American market" prior to her company's promotion of it there. Watkins says she has asked US customs officials to be on the look-out for any rooibos products being imported to America "illegally". "I also have the right to tell retailers that they are in violation of my trademark if they sell rooibos products. "You must understand the trademark is not just limited to tea, but all products which are manufactured with an extract of the tea." Watkins said she was prepared to defend her right to the name in the US in any court of law. "I was granted this right by the United States Patent and Trademark Commission," she said. The Department of Trade and Industry's company and intellectual property registration office is also looking into the matter. Copyright © 2002 Cape Argus.