West Lake Longjing - geographical indication certification trademark is approved for registration, and there will be no hiding place for counterfeit West Lake Longjing tea?

"West Lake Longjing" fragrance far away, just in time to clear the source

"The wind lotus West son outside the hospital smiles, and the daughter of Longjing is red before the Ming Dynasty." Approaching the Qingming Festival, "Longjing before the Ming Dynasty" has entered the annual harvest season. As a "hot commodity" in the market, West Lake Longjing tea is often in short supply. On the occasion of the listing of "Mingqian Longjing", some cheap fake West Lake Longjing tea poured into the market. Even before the picking and production of "Mingqian Longjing" were listed in late March this year, the fake "Mingqian Longjing" began to "seize" the market. Moreover, in the market, the price of West Lake Longjing also ranges from 15000 yuan to 18000 yuan per kilogram.

The market situation of "mixed fish and dragon" makes it difficult to distinguish between true and false, and the widely different prices also make many consumers feel suspicious and sleepy. In this regard, Shang Jiannong, President of Hangzhou West Lake Longjing Tea Industry Association (hereinafter referred to as West Lake Longjing Tea Association), said: "we have been on the road to protect the certification trademark of geographical indications of 'West Lake Longjing' and purify the market environment. At the same time, we have a long way to go to crack down on counterfeit West Lake Longjing tea and promote the sustainable development of 'West Lake Longjing' brand."

Tracing to the source and ensuring quality

"Fry the golden buds without taking the grain after the rain." The reporter learned that West Lake Longjing tea is the best picked and produced before the Qingming Festival, commonly known as "Longjing before the Ming Dynasty"; After the Qingming Festival, the harvest before the Guyu solar term is slightly "inferior", commonly known as the "dragon well before the rain". In late March, tea farmers in the West Lake Longjing tea Reserve began picking the first batch of "Longjing before the Ming Dynasty" this year. According to local tea farmers, due to the changeable weather and large temperature fluctuations this year, the picking period of "Mingqian Longjing" new tea is slightly later than that in 2016, and the price is slightly higher than that in 2016.

It is understood that West Lake Longjing tea belongs to green tea, with a history of more than 1200 years. It originated in the Tang Dynasty, originated in the Song Dynasty, heard in the Yuan Dynasty, prospered in the Ming Dynasty and flourished in the Qing Dynasty. It is one of the top ten famous teas in China. It is produced in the mountains around Longjing Village, West Lake District, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province. West Lake Longjing tea has the characteristics of green color, strong aroma, mellow and refreshing taste and shape like a sparrow tongue, which is commonly known as the "four wonders of Longjing" and "green color, fragrant, sweet taste and beautiful shape".

"We have been working hard to crack down on counterfeiting and protect our rights." Shang Jiannong told reporters that the Hangzhou Municipal People's government authorized the West Lake Longjing tea association as the main body to be responsible for the registration, use, supervision and management of the certification trademark of the "West Lake Longjing" geographical indication. "After successfully registering the geographical indication certification trademark of 'West Lake Longjing', we began to carry out anti-counterfeiting and rights protection activities to safeguard the brand rights and interests of 'West Lake Longjing'."

After inquiry, the reporter found that in February 2011, the West Lake Longjing tea association filed an application for the registration of No. 9129815 "West Lake Longjing" geographical indication certification trademark. In June 2011, the trademark was approved to be registered and used in class 30 tea commodities. Subsequently, the West Lake Longjing tea association successively issued the application measures for the use of the "West Lake Longjing" geographical indication certification trademark, the unified "West Lake Longjing" logo packaging and other relevant management measures, which defined the origin scope of the "West Lake Longjing" geographical indication certification trademark and the unified packaging and logo use management system of West Lake Longjing tea.

"Previously, we could only give verbal advice to illegal users. For a time, we felt helpless about the situation of" fish eyes mixed with pearls "of West Lake Longjing tea on the market, which is very unfavorable to the long-term development of the brand of" West Lake Longjing ". The approval to register the certification trademark of geographical indication of" West Lake Longjing "and the introduction of relevant measures and regulations will help us better manage and standardize the brand of" West Lake Longjing " Shang Jiannong said.

According to Shang Jiannong, the actual users whose origin and registered place are within the production area can apply for the use of the "West Lake Longjing" geographical indication certification trademark. Enterprises can directly apply to the West Lake Longjing tea association, and tea farmers can collectively apply in the form of village (community) economic cooperatives or tea professional cooperatives. It is reported that by the end of January this year, a total of 98 enterprises and cooperatives processing and producing West Lake Longjing tea had been licensed to use the "West Lake Longjing" geographical indication certification trademark.

"Enterprises and cooperatives that have obtained the license to use the geographical indication certification trademark of 'West Lake Longjing' can apply for the use of unified packaging and logo of West Lake Longjing tea to ensure the quality of West Lake Longjing tea." Shang Jiannong said that the West Lake Longjing tea is managed by the West Lake Longjing tea association from unified packaging to logo design, production and distribution. The quantity of unified packaging and labeling shall be determined according to the area of the tea garden, the output shall be controlled by the total amount, and the packaging and labeling shall be used together. "We have established a product traceability system, and consumers can track and query the West Lake Longjing tea through the anti-counterfeiting code." Shang Jiannong said.

Fight against counterfeiting, protect rights and protect brands

According to the data disclosed by Hangzhou market supervision and Administration Bureau, in 2016 alone, Hangzhou market supervision and administration department investigated and dealt with more than 10 cases of "near famous brand" of West Lake Longjing tea, more than 20 cases of trademark infringement, and accepted and handled more than 50 complaints and reports related to West Lake Longjing tea.

"Not all flat green tea is Longjing tea, and not all Longjing tea is West Lake Longjing tea. At present, the tea garden area of West Lake Longjing tea is about 26000 mu. According to the" tea farmer standard "issued by us, the annual output of West Lake Longjing tea is only 450-500 tons, but the total amount of tea with the" West Lake Longjing "logo sold in the national market is far more than that. Flat green tea produced in many places began to take a" free ride " ’, they are selling in the name of West Lake Longjing tea. " Shang Jiannong said that the chaos of "fish eyes mixed with pearls" in the West Lake Longjing tea market made it difficult for consumers to buy West Lake Longjing tea at a real price. At the same time, it also seriously damaged the brand reputation of West Lake Longjing tea.

"The selling prices of the same tea varieties in different producing areas are very different. There are two main forms of counterfeiting West Lake Longjing tea in the market. One is to use old tea as new tea, and the other is to directly take Longjing tea or even flat green tea from other regions as West Lake Longjing tea." Shang Jiannong said.

The reporter learned that in order to safeguard the brand rights and interests of "West Lake Longjing" and protect the legitimate rights and interests of consumers and tea farmers and merchants of origin, the West Lake Longjing tea association has launched actions to crack down on the infringement of the exclusive right to use the certification trademark of "West Lake Longjing" geographical indications since 2013. "So far, we have found and completed nearly 1000 cases of infringement of the exclusive right to use the certification trademark of 'West Lake Longjing' geographical indication in Beijing, Zhejiang, Guangdong, Jiangsu and other places. As of 2016, we have successfully maintained nearly 500 cases of the exclusive right to use the certification trademark of 'West Lake Longjing' geographical indication." When it comes to the fight against counterfeiting and safeguarding rights, the commercial construction farmers are quite aware, "the brand protection and development of West Lake Longjing tea is a protracted war, and we have a long way to go."

"At present, in view of the chaos in the West Lake Longjing tea market, we continue to strengthen standardized management internally and continue to carry out anti-counterfeiting and rights protection actions externally." According to Shang Jiannong, if the user violates the relevant regulations, the West Lake Longjing tea association will withdraw its business standard license and the relevant geographical indication certification trademark logo, and terminate the trademark use license contract with the user.

"At present, the anti-counterfeiting and rights protection work of West Lake Longjing tea association is mainly to seek solutions through civil litigation, supplemented by requesting the administrative department for Industry and commerce to investigate and deal with it according to law." Shang Jiannong said that the West Lake Longjing tea association will apply to the administrative department for Industry and Commerce for investigation or bring a civil lawsuit to the people's court for the unauthorized use of signs that are the same or similar to the certification trademark of the geographical indication "West Lake Longjing"; If the circumstances are serious and suspected of constituting a crime, the West Lake Longjing tea association will report to the judicial organ to investigate the criminal responsibility of the infringer.

"I hope that enterprises will not have the psychology of 'near famous brands' and' free riding ', but should strive to cultivate their own brands. Only honest management is the long-term way. In the future, we will continue to actively carry out market purification activities to safeguard the brand rights and interests of' West Lake Longjing ', and strive to make the authentic West Lake Longjing fragrance in China." Agricultural and Commercial Construction said.