Ethiopia, Starbucks to sign coffee trademark deal

May 4, 2007

ADDIS ABABA -- US coffee giant Starbucks and Ethiopia are to sign an agreement this month to allow the country to brand its specialty coffee in America, ending a long trademark tussle, Oxfam said Thursday.

The British charity said that the two sides had agreed in principle on the deal, of which details will be announced after the signing at a yet unspecified date.

"This is an important step for Ethiopia as it engages with coffee companies on its innovative trade-marking initiative designed to help alleviate poverty," Raymond C. Offenheiser, president of Oxfam America, said in a statement.

Oxfam "welcomed ... news that the government of Ethiopia and the Starbucks Coffee Company have agreed in principle to sign a licensing, distribution, and marketing agreement that recognizes the importance and integrity of Ethiopia's specialty coffee names."

Ethiopia had applied to trademark its most famous coffee names - Sidamo, Harar, and Yigacheffe - to control their use and allow farmers to receive a greater share of the retail price.

More >>