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e-News
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Ethiopia receives U.S. trademark rights for Sidamo coffee |
03.07.2008
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WASHINGTON--The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office here gave Ethiopia trademark rights for its specialty Sidamo coffee here March 5, reported Reuters.
The African country had been in a dispute with Seattle based-coffee roaster Starbucks over its use of the name for several years. Then on June 20, 2007, Starbucks and Ethiopian Intellectual Property Office issued a joint statement about the two partnering to promote Ethiopia's coffee and an agreement regarding distribution, marketing and licensing of Ethiopia's specialty coffee designations.
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Ethiopia has already secured trademark rights for Yirgacheffee coffee in the United States and has filed an application to register the trademark for its Harar coffee.
Between 2002 and 2006, Starbucks increased its Ethiopian coffee purchases by nearly 400 percent. Today, Ethiopian coffee can be found in nearly all of Starbucks' U.S. stores, according to the Ethiopian Embassy's Web site.
Ethiopia has signed agreements with more than 70 global companies to promote its coffees, reported Reuters.
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