Comments on: A bitter fight brewing: Ethiopia and Starbucks clash over coffee http://bciptf.org/blog/2006/10/30/a-bitter-fight-brewing-ethiopia-and-starbucks-clash-over-coffee/ Blogging by the Intellectual Property & Technology Forum & Journal at BC Law Wed, 07 Jan 2009 15:15:50 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.2.2 By: Danielle http://bciptf.org/blog/2006/10/30/a-bitter-fight-brewing-ethiopia-and-starbucks-clash-over-coffee/#comment-980 Danielle Tue, 31 Oct 2006 02:59:59 +0000 http://bciptf.org/blog/2006/10/30/a-bitter-fight-brewing-ethiopia-and-starbucks-clash-over-coffee/#comment-980 Yes, a word that is the name of a region that also happens to be the name of a product can certainly be trademarked. Ethiopia was already successful in trademarking Yirgacheffe in the US. It's only Harar and Sidamo that are having issues. And they're having issues not because trademarking coffee is novel (even though it is a pretty progressive program) but because Starbucks and then the NCA submitted opposition to the trademarks with the USPTO. Yirgacheffe they left alone, and that got through fine. Also, over 30 other countries have already ok'd the trademark applications. The only real issue so far is in the US. Even if there was a certification program that they were following, that doesn't lead to any increased revenue or negotiation power for Ethiopia. It just leads to justification for a higher retail price when you buy the coffee at Starbucks. Ethiopia should be able to own its own product, as well as the value that they put into that. Other suggestions are helpful, but aggressive legal blocking of Ethiopia's ownership of their own names is the farthest thing possible from being helpful. Yes, a word that is the name of a region that also happens to be the name of a product can certainly be trademarked. Ethiopia was already successful in trademarking Yirgacheffe in the US. It’s only Harar and Sidamo that are having issues. And they’re having issues not because trademarking coffee is novel (even though it is a pretty progressive program) but because Starbucks and then the NCA submitted opposition to the trademarks with the USPTO. Yirgacheffe they left alone, and that got through fine. Also, over 30 other countries have already ok’d the trademark applications. The only real issue so far is in the US.

Even if there was a certification program that they were following, that doesn’t lead to any increased revenue or negotiation power for Ethiopia. It just leads to justification for a higher retail price when you buy the coffee at Starbucks. Ethiopia should be able to own its own product, as well as the value that they put into that. Other suggestions are helpful, but aggressive legal blocking of Ethiopia’s ownership of their own names is the farthest thing possible from being helpful.

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