By Groum Abate
Top U.S. law firm Arnold & Porter LLP refutes Starbucks’ VP claim that signing a license agreement with Ethiopia would be against the law.
Starbucks is misleading the public by claiming that Ethiopia’s efforts to trademark its prized coffee brands and license international distributors are illegal, says Robert Winter. Winter is partner at the Washington DC-based law firm Arnold & Porter LLP which has been advising Ethiopia in these efforts. Winter stated publicly on February 9: “There is nothing illegal or unlawful about Ethiopia's program to obtain trademark protection for its coffee marks.” And he went on: “Moreover, there is nothing unlawful about Starbucks entering into a license agreement that acknowledges Ethiopia's trademark rights. To make this claim is flat wrong. Indeed, we believe that Ethiopia already enjoys effective trademark rights in its marks through widespread use of those marks for more than 75 years.”
Winter’s statement is a direct response to the claims by Dub Hay, Starbucks’ VP for coffee procurement, made on YouTube. This false claim is the latest in a series of misleading statements made by Starbucks since Ethiopia first approached the company in early 2005. Further, Starbucks’ representatives continue to state publicly that they know what is best for Ethiopian coffee farmers and refuse to acknowledge Ethiopia’s right to own and protect its valuable intellectual property in this way.
Ethiopia is reaching out to the specialty coffee industry worldwide with an invitation to enter into dialogue with the EIPO and to help shape a long term, mutually beneficial branding and distribution strategy for these coffees.
Of the current status of negotiations with Starbucks, Winter remarks: “Starbucks has expressed some concerns about the specific terms of the license Ethiopia has proposed and Ethiopia is prepared to enter into discussions to try to address those concerns, but there is no point in doing so while the company objects in principle to Ethiopia’s ownership of trademarks.”
“Ethiopia views trademark registrations as important business assets that will better enable it to manage the distribution of its coffees and to establish an effective distribution network”, Winter stated.
Ethiopia’s innovative Coffee Trademarking and Licensing Initiative is set to put Ethiopia’s producers and exporters on a more equal footing with their international buyers and improve the long-term market prospects for these coffee brands. Cooperation and support from buyers at this time demonstrates significant corporate social responsibility, given the critical importance of coffee income to more than 15 million people who earn their living by producing and supplying Ethiopian coffee.
Source: Capital Ethiopia