I’m more of a Five Roses man. But a Red Cappuccino always goes down a treat and when I need a health injection, there’s lots worse than a cuppa Rooibos. Will enjoy sipping that tea even more now that I know some dastardly Frenchmen have been thwarted in a scheme to hijack something that’s as South African as braaivleis and biltong. Judging by what the Prof says in this interview, it’s probably time to also secure the Geographical Indications of those national assets. Only a matter of time before the Aussies realise there’s something better than a Barbie; or the Yanks discover Beef Jerky is a poor substitute for the real thing. – AH
ALEC HOGG: Well, for more on the Rooibos industry, we’re joined by the Professor of the University of Stellenbosch, Owen Dean. Owen, we’ve been following this story quite closely because there’s not a whole lot that comes out of South Africa that can, I suppose, be trademarked in a global scenario – Rooibos being one of those exceptions. Is there room for celebration – yourself being an intellectual property expert – that we now do indeed, own this name?
PROF. OWEN DEAN: Yes, I think it’s a very important milestone that’s been reached. The problem has been that Rooibos is well-known and identified in South Africa, but in the international marketplace, all sorts of people have tried to jump on the bandwagon – most recently, in France. Now, there is an international system in place to protect so-called geographical indications (GI’s). Once you get a name like Rooibos elevated to that status, then it generally enjoys worldwide protection and nobody else can use it without the authority of the Rooibos growers. It’s been a long road to get to this point, but eventually it happened and we’re now in the stage where we can claim international protection of Rooibos.
ALEC HOGG: Owen, I’ve had Rooibos from Starbucks in the US. I’ve had it in Germany where it’s called Rooibosch. I’ve seen it on the shelves of supermarkets in London. Does this have any implications for the people marketing it over there?
PROF. OWEN DEAN: Well, if it’s the genuine article then there isn’t a problem. Obviously, it’s exported to those countries and they sell and market the goods there. That’s fine. However, what one wants to prevent is that others try to pass off something, which isn’t Rooibos, as Rooibos. That is what South Africa would seek to prevent at this stage.
ALEC HOGG: So Starbucks will have to buy their Rooibos from South Africa in future – only from South Africa.
PROF. OWEN DEAN: They will, indeed. Well, they could perhaps get a comparable product, but they couldn’t call it Rooibos. If they want to call it Rooibos, it has to come from South Africa and it has to be from the genuine source.
GUGULETHU MFUPHI: This must have significant economic benefits then, Owen.
PROF. OWEN DEAN: Yes, it does. Obviously, Rooibos seems to have generated a reputation in overseas countries. It would seem as though the demand that has been generated, has been satisfied, partly by non-South African products whereas now, if people want Rooibos, they will be getting the genuine article and only South Africa will be supplying Rooibos.
ALEC HOGG: It is somewhat ironic that the French are trying to hijack this, given the furore around Champagne.
@siphojanuary @alechogg Rights to Rooibos is a plus to our knowledge economy. Interested to know if we won over the rights to the hoodia?
— Tshingana (@Tshingana) August 22, 2014
PROF. OWEN DEAN: Well, that is correct. The French have been at the forefront of so-called GI’s and they’ve been extremely jealous about Champagne, and so it’s only right that we should now get the same sort of protection that Champagne enjoys throughout the world.
GUGULETHU MFUPHI: Does this highlight more work that needs to be done with regard to Intellectual Property Protection in South Africa?
PROF. OWEN DEAN: Well, we’ve been very slow in utilising this international regime for the protection of GI’s and to some extent, the Department of Trade and Industry have been dragged – kicking and screaming – into this arrangement, because we could have gotten to this point many years ago. It was this attempt to register Rooibos as a trademark in France, which sparked off the current step that has been taken. It was partly due to the action on the part of the European Union because the European Union said to South Africa ‘we’re very happy to protect Rooibos, but you have to take the first step. Firstly, you have to protect Rooibos in South Africa’. Amazingly enough, Rooibos was not protected in South Africa up to that point – and I’m talking about just a year ago – and so, steps were eventually taken to give the name protection in South Africa, which is an indispensable condition for it being protected internationally. In other words, it won’t protect the name, unless you protect it properly in your own country.
@alechogg Is the price for Rooibos going to increase now?
— lyn (@lynetso) August 22, 2014
ALEC HOGG: What about something like Hoodia? We know that it’s a huge product in the diet industry around the world. It’s only grown here in South Africa, and in Namibia. Is there a similar type of opportunity here to trademark it and make it proudly South African?
PROF. OWEN DEAN: Well, Hoodia has been used in various pharmaceutical products and there are benefit-sharing arrangements in place in terms of which, the local San people benefit from commercializing of Hoodia. I don’t know that Hoodia as a name is that well-known. In other words, I don’t know that it carries much force in the marketplace, to be calling something Hoodia. However, if it does or it turns out that way, then obviously Hoodia should go down the same road as Rooibos did.
ALEC HOGG: Yes, I think we need to do some research there. Go and have a look at the stores overseas. My wife used to have a health store, so I have a pretty good insight the fact that Hoodia is marketed aggressively and perhaps there’s another opportunity. It’s an interesting point – the one Gugu brought up a little earlier – about South Africa perhaps not paying as much attention as we should, to these trademarks. Setting Hoodia aside, and now that we’ve gone ahead with Rooibos: are there any other trademarks that, in your opinion, we should be paying attention to?
PROF. OWEN DEAN: Well, when you say ‘trademark’, it’s not quite a trademark. It’s what is called a geographical indication. In other words, it is a name, which has a geographical significance like Champagne, which only comes from a certain area of France: so Rooibos only comes from a certain area of South Africa. The road that Rooibos has gone down can be followed by any other geographically orientated names. For instance, Stellenbosch Wine Route would be another example. Karoo lamb was mentioned in your video clip, so there are these names. The people have speculated with biltong, for instance. There’s another possibility, which could be protected in this manner.
