Ethiopian Fine Coffee
Trademarking and Licensing Initiative: Background and History
The Ethiopian Fine Coffee Trademarking and Licensing Initiative represented a significant effort by the Government of Ethiopia through the Ethiopian Intellectual Property Office (EIPO) to benefit Ethiopia’s coffee farmers by securing greater control over the distribution of Ethiopia’s fine coffees.
• The Initiative was designed in 2003-4 by Ron Layton, CEO of Light Years IP (LYIP), to achieve “Ethiopian ownership of fine coffee brands through trademark registration and establishment of a network of distributors selling and promoting the fine coffees under license from Ethiopia."
• Getachew Mengistie, Director General of EIPO until 2008, provided the Ethiopian leadership of the project. Among other things, he took up the project and engaged Ethiopian fine coffee stakeholders in the Initiative. Former Ethiopian ambassadors to the US, Mr. Kassahun Ayele and Dr. Samuel Assefa also provided leadership and engaged with Starbucks and other coffee distributors.
• EIPO and LYIP implemented the Initiative, in an excellent collaboration. Implementation of the Project required a global pro bono trademark registration effort for the fine coffee brands under the Initiative as well as legal assistance in licensing negotiations and other matters. Ethiopia’s principal legal advisor was Arnold & Porter LLP, which provided substantial pro bono services.
• Trademark registration for the top three Ethiopian fine coffee brands, Harar, Yirgacheffe and Sidamo has been secured in the US, Canada, EU member countries as a Community Trademark, China, and Saudi Arabia, while applications are pending in other major markets including Australia, Brazil, India and South Africa. The registered status of the Yirgacheffe and Sidamo marks in Japan is on appeal.
• There was significant industry opposition to the Initiative. Initiated by LYIP, a successful campaign was launched to counter industry opposition that ultimately persuaded many companies, including Starbucks, to become licensees. To support the Ethiopian Government and stakeholders, the campaign received enthusiastic help from Students for Fair Trade, Catholic World Relief, the Lutheran Church, Oxfam America and members of the US and UK legislatures.
• The Initiative provided Ethiopia with acknowledgment of its legitimate authority to license its exporters and foreign market distributors of the three coffee brands. The licensing agreement was promoted in key countries around the world by EIPO and LYIP, securing over 100 foreign licensees worldwide.
• By early 2007, the Ethiopian fine coffee exporters and farmers’ cooperatives unions found their new negotiating power enabled them to negotiate fine coffee price increases, moving the price structure away from being based exclusively on the NY “C” commodity market index.
• EIPO and LYIP conducted more than a dozen awareness workshops and training sessions to build Ethiopian capacity to manage the Initiative.
• In the financial year to June 2008, the increase in export price was the main factor in Ethiopia earning $101 million in additional coffee export income, as reported by the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
• Currently, two additional fine coffee brands, Limu and Nekemte, have been added to the trademark registration effort.
• The Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) named Ethiopia Portrait Country at its 2008 annual conference in Minneapolis, MN, where the Initiative was showcased and promoted.
• A special promotional documentary on the Initiative is on this website and one of a number of press interviews is available below: