A row has erupted in Israel after the country’s Patent Office removed the exclusive rights of the citrus sector to the Jaffa brand name.
The Citrus Sector at the Israel Plant Production and Marketing Board (PPMB) today decided to challenge the decision of the Israel Patent Office to cancel the Citrus Marketing Board's (CMBI) exclusive right to the Jaffa brand name.
The CMBI registered the Jaffa name in 1986 and, in October 2002, applied to renew the brand name for a 10-year period. Dr Meir Noam, the head of the Patent Office, explained that since the CMBI (now the Citrus Sector at the PPMB) used the Jaffa brand name for goods not originating in the geographical region bearing the brand name, it "had made use if the name indefensible under the Defense of Origin Names law." He added that the Citrus Sector's own use of the Jaffa brand name for citrus grown in South Africa constituted an admission that there was no connection between the brand name and its implied features, and any particular geographical area."
According to a statement by the Citrus Sector, the Patent Office's decision "is totally erroneous and contradicts the letter of the law”. It further stated that the country's citrus sector had a double defense status which guarantees the sector's exclusive rights for the Jaffa brand: the first is protecting the brand as a name depicting the source of origin and the second is its registration as a trade mark. "The protection regarding the brand's source of origin is valid in all the countries which signed the Lisbon Treaty, and registering the Jaffa trade mark was carried out in all the countries to which Israel exports its citrus." This, according the Citrus Sector, "provides a double protection mechanism for our Jaffa brand name."
Michael Ayalon, PPMB general manager, stated that in his opinion the decision will not challenge the citrus sector's "ownership rights and status of exclusivity in the tens of countries where the brand name is legally registered as a trade mark." He added that the Jaffa brand name enjoys international reputation, in fact, "it is one of the most recognised and respected brand names in the world," and Israel has an interest to preserve its right to own the brand name.
The PPMB’s legal counsellor maintains that the Patent Office assumed authority not invested in its status, as it contradicts the prevailing law in Israel. "The 1969 trade marks amendment specifically defines that the Jaffa brand name will be considered as a brand of origin, fully-owned by the PPMB, and will be valid in the countries signatory to the Lisbon Treaty."
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