In a country famous for its tea and coffee production, the government of Nepal is planning to register collective trademarks for both in the international market.

“We need to register a collective trademark for tea and coffee, which will ensure that inferior quality products are not sold in the international market with the Nepali brand,” Jib Raj Koirala, joint secretary at the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies, told the Himalayan Times.

The Nepal government has already addressed the plan through Budget of fiscal year 2010-11, RC Subedi, an IP attorney at Apex Law Chamber in Kathmandu, tells Asia IP.

The current plan of the government is to have the “Nepal Tea” and “Nepal Coffee” collective trademarks registered under the name of the National Tea and Coffee Development Board (NTCDB), says Shirshak Ghimire, an associate at Pradhan & Associates in Kathmandu.

“Since the collective trademarks are sought to be registered by an entity which does not actually manufacture the products associated with the trademarks, the question of whether such registration is possible under NTCDB will depend upon the legal requirement of each individual jurisdiction,” says Ghimire.

“If we face any opposition, conciliation or any litigation against the mark, then there would be a problem for funding and following up,” says Subedi. “So, a separate wing has to be established to maintain these two collective trademarks internationally.” Furthermore, it also has to widely publicize about the collective trademark in the destination market, which is not possible to do without government help, he says. “The Nepal government should assist continuously. This issue has to be included in the government’s plan.”

Ghimire says the initiative would be beneficial to the Nepalese tea and coffee market, particularly the export of tea and coffee from Nepal. “The registration of these collective trademarks will ensure the foreign importers of the quality of the products having the ‘Nepal Tea’ and ‘Nepal Coffee’ marks. Such action would also reduce the threat from sub-standard or counterfeit products being sold as authentic Nepalese tea or coffee. The producers in Nepal will also benefit from the standard of quality and brand protection within the domestic market.”

Tea and coffee exporters from Nepal are struggling to convince buyers in international markets of the authenticity of organic tea and coffee exported from Nepal,” Subedi says. “Collective trademark registration for the tea and coffee would help in resolving these problems and help convince recipient buyers in international market of authenticity of organic tea and coffee. International registration of the collective mark for Nepali tea and coffee ensure that low quality products are not sold in the international market with the Nepali brand.”

A large number of Nepali teas are exported to India and Europe, while Japan is the largest importer of its coffee. Nepali tea and coffee are registered as “Nepal Tea” and “Nepal Coffee” in the country.