Legal experts out there: How can you block a trademark such as the one for Ethiopian coffee beans?
Ethics aside, how can Starbucks and the National Coffee Association LEGALLY block a trademark application by Ethiopian farmers for their coffee beans, Sidamo and Harar?
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061105/bs_nm/food_coffee_starbucks_dc_1
I want to know more about the technicalities involved and how a lawyer would make moves to block an African country from trademarking its coffee. If these coffee beans have been called Sidamo and Hara for a thousand years, what are the technicalities to challenge this in court? It just seems like it’s Ethiopia’s godgiven right to trademark these names…it’s not like the coffee beans are called “Apple” and “Microsoft”.
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Tagged with: beans • block • coffee • Ethiopian • experts • legal • such • there • Trademark
Filed under: Lawyer FAQ
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Applications for trademarks are published. Any individual or firm can file an objection, usually on the grounds of infringement, or that the trademark represents an effort to block the use of a generic term, including a descriptive geographic one.
But geographic ones may be protected otherwise also: as appellations d’origine (like wines, Parma ham, cheese, etc.)
Here’s one businessperson’s story: http://www.cummingsdesign.com/trademarks_service_marks_problems.htm
And here’s the official UK Government site about opposition to a trademark application: http://www.patent.gov.uk/tm/t-other/t-object/t-object-afterpublish/t-object-afterpublish-oppose.htm
And the US Government site: http://www.uspto.gov/main/trademarks.htm
I can think of some reasons but I checked on the USPTO web site and it shows that the terms are registered and no one is challenging them. If you have information that is not on the official government web site I’d be happy to comment on it.
Regards
Paul
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