20 August 2008
The Economic Development Minister has requested the withdrawal of a Proposition (p. 128) which sought States agreement for the introduction of an application fee and annual licence fee for the use of the Jersey Royal trademark.
Following the lodging of the proposition a number of comments have been received from interested parties. It has become clear that the intentions behind the proposition were not well understood and need further explanation by the department. The R&P will be re-drafted and re-lodged in a form which better explains the background to the proposal. The Minister has requested a clearer outline of what the department wants to achieve; most notably, that the proposal seeks to strengthen and protect the Jersey Royal Potato brand, not dilute it. In addition, some minor changes will be proposed including the introduction of industry and professional representatives onto the application panel and an exemption from fees for all potato growers.
The redrafted proposal will differentiate clearly between the certification mark and the trademark. Growers of Jersey Royals can continue to use the ‘certification mark’ (the logo and words ‘Jersey Royal’) provided their crop meets agreed standards. There will be no charge for this.
The trademark protects the name and the logo from mis-use. The department has found it is necessary to list the possible categories of use by enterprises that do not grow or sell potatoes; this is to prevent the unauthorised use of the brand, not to encourage more use of it. The list makes it clear the brand cannot be used by any of those specific categories without permission. That permission will be issued, if appropriate, by licence.
A fee would be payable by anyone wanting to use the trademark for non-potato products. There have already been examples of people wanting to do this – in the past for vodka, and more recently for tee-shirts.
A specially constituted panel will scrutinise any requests to use the trademark to make sure its use does not detract from the brand. There will be representatives from the potato industry, trading standards, tourism and economic development on this panel.
The Economic Development Department’s Assistant Minister, Deputy Alan Maclean, says “The Minister has asked the department to ensure all parties are fully briefed on the intentions behind this proposition. Trademarks and certification marks are complicated but very important. We want to ensure clarity within the industry and across the Island. The Minister has no intention of diluting the valuable Jersey Royal brand. The motivation behind this proposal is to protect the brand, not to extend its use.”
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Notes to Editors:
Jersey Royals first appeared on the London market in the 1880’s and have been a mainstay of the agricultural industry since then.
The Jersey Royal potato was granted a Protected Designation of origin in 1996 giving recognition of its unique status.
12,721 vergées of Jersey Royals were grown in 2007.
Exports in 2007 amounted to 32,316 tonnes with a gross value of £23.3 million, accounting for 78% of the Island’s agricultural vegetable and flower exports.
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