What’s in a name? Plenty, Ethiopia tells Starbucks

By Brenda Ryan
Published Nov 9, 2006 8:02 PM

How does the “free trade” pushed by U.S. corporations really work?

Ethiopian coffee farmers don’t make enough in one whole day to buy a latte at Starbucks. But the Ethiopian government has a plan to change that. It’s seeking trademarks on Ethiopia’s famous coffee names in hopes of getting a larger share of their retail price. The charity group Oxfam estimates that the trademarks could bring the Ethiopian coffee industry and farmers an additional $88 million per year.

Starbucks, though, is standing in the way.

Last year the Ethiopian government filed applications with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to trademark the Sidamo, Harar and Yirgacheffe coffee names. While Ethiopia received a trademark for Yirgacheffe in August, the National Coffee Association and Starbucks are opposing registration of the other two names.

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