WIPO Journal - World Intellectual Property Organization

166 The WIPO Journal
Darjeeling tea
Darjeeling tea is produced from 87 gardens/estates some situated over 5,000 foot elevation in the north-east
state of West Bengal, India. The description of the location of the Darjeeling GI references specific estates
in the Darjeeling district of West Bengal, India. 30 About 10 million kg of tea is produced from 17,500
hectares of land. The best quality, about 2,000 tons, comes from the spring and Easter harvests. Much of
the supplementary production is of inferior quality, which diminishes the value of even the best quality
product. Owing to the clearly demarcated area in Darjeeling, all of which is under cultivation, some going
back to the origins in the 19th century, area expansion is not possible. 31 Production increases can come
only through technological change or increased purchased input use intensity.
All tea growing regions in India are administered by the Tea Board, under the Tea Act 1953. Since its
establishment, the Tea Board has had sole control over the cultivation and export of Darjeeling tea as well
as ownership of the Darjeeling logo and name. Darjeeling tea was registered as a GI in India in 2003, the
first one. Only pure, unblended Darjeeling tea is eligible for certification. All 87 existing tea estates have
received licences to use the Darjeeling tea certification, as have processors, packers and exporters. A
certification mark for Darjeeling tea was obtained from the United States in 1991. Protection has also
been received in Canada, Egypt, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom and other EU members. Worldwide
protection is a costly process, not the least owing to the need to monitor use and enforce rights when
needed. 32
Tea is a labour-intensive crop, and Darjeeling tea employs about 52,000 people permanently, and more
on a seasonal basis. Compensation has evolved to include many benefits such as health care and schooling.
But whether that redistributive effect can be attributed to the existence of the GI is difficult to say for it
was put into effect long before the GI was formally implemented, and in this 150-year old sector even
prior to the 1953 Tea Act. 33
Oolong tea
The area under tea gardens across China is 1.18 million hectares. However, most of the total output (71
per cent) comes from five provinces: Fujian (principal), Zhejiang, Hunan, Anhui and Sichuan, as well as
from Taiwan. On February 17, 2007 the General Administration of Quality, Supervision, Inspection and
Quarantine approved application for a GI for Oolong tea in 35 out of 85 counties in Fujian Province.
Presently, Oolong tea production in the specified 35 counties is about 98 per cent of total Oolong tea
production in Fujian province, but utilises only one-third of the total Oolong tea planting area there. 34 Thus
there is significant area available for future expansion, although whether the quality of all the unused
two-thirds of the available land is appropriate for quality tea production is unknown at this time. The
analysis assumes that a significant portion of it is at least legally permitted for Oolong production. Current
Oolong tea gardens are typically 0.35 hectares per household in Fujian province. 35
30 Tea which has been cultivated, grown, produced, manufactured and processed in tea gardens (the current schedule whereof is attached hereto) in
the hilly areas of Sardar Sub-division, the only hilly areas of Kalimpong Sub-division comprising Samabeong Tea Estate, Ambiok Tea Estate, Mission
Hill Tea Estate and Kumai Tea Estate and Kurseong Sub-division, excluding the areas in jurisdiction list 20, 21, 23, 24, 29, 31 and 33 comprising
Subtiguri Sub-division of New Chumta Tea Estate, Simulbari and Marionbari Tea Estate of Kurseong Police Station in Kurseong Sub-division of the
District of Darjeeling in the State of West Bengal, India; see http://www.american.edu/ted/darjeeling.htm [Accessed March 28, 2011].
31 C.N. Rao, “Geographical Indications in Indian Context: A Case Study of Darjeeling Tea” (2005) 40(42) Economic and Political Weekly, at http:
//www.epw.org.in [Accessed March 28, 2011].
32 Rao, “Geographical Indications in Indian Context” (2005) 40(42) Economic and Political Weekly, at http://www.epw.org.in [Accessed March 28,
2011].
33 R. Kumar and V. Naik, “Darjeeling Tea—Challenges in the Protection and Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights”, WIPO Program Activities
(n.d.), at http://www.wipo.int/sme/en/case_studies/darjeeling_tea.htm [Accessed March 28, 2011].
34 Fujian Statistical Bureau, Fujian Economic and Social Statistical Yearbook (Fuzhou: Fujian People’s Publishing House, 2005).
35 Anxi Bureau of Agriculture, “The Basic Information of Anxi County’s Oolong Tea Production” (2006), at http://www.axny.gov.cn/lygk-tea.asp
[Accessed March 15, 2011].
(2011) 2 W.I.P.O.J., Issue 2 © 2011 Thomson Reuters (Professional) UK Limited