09.01.05
In a satisfying conclusion to attempts by the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA), Silver Spring, MD, and others to challenge the legitimacy of a trademark for the name “rooibos,” AHPA has been notified that the owner of the trademark has informed the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) that it has “voluntarily surrender[ed]” the mark. Although rooibos is the standard common name for the South African plant Aspalathus linearis, a U.S. trademark for the word “rooibos” was registered in 1994. The owner of the mark, Burke International, sought to protect the trademark by claiming that labels that correctly identified Aspalathus linearis as rooibos were infringing on their trade name. Petitions to USPTO to force a cancellation of the trademark were undertaken by AHPA and by Rooibos, Ltd., a South African exporter of the herb.