Oppositions to Ethiopia's bids to full coffee trademark rights brushed off: EIPO
(28 Dec 2007)
No foreign company that had held Ethiopian coffee brand names as its registered trademark will be eligible to be identified with it anymore, nor will such a trademark be issued to any company whatsoever, says EIPO in announcement of the consummation of the fight to put an end to the long-held patent injustices related to global coffee trade.
Ethiopia's moves to get its ownership rights to its coffee brands -- especially to its two specialty coffees namely Harar and Sidamo -- fully ensured in the global coffee trading regime was being challenged in some parts of the world where some companies had already held their trademark with one or the other of such names, says Getachew Mengistie, Director General of the Ethiopian Intellectual Property Office.
Getachew said, apart from the issue of precedence in trademark registration, Ethiopia's bids were met with objections in some countries on the claims of 'similarity', he said.
Ethiopia has been taking issue with the objecting companies in the U.S., Japan as well as in Europe, to have managed now at long last to convince all to its side, he said.
resistance to Ethiopia's rightful claims from companies in Japan, Germany and the U.S. has been countered successfully, he added.
The trademarking of Harar and sidamo fine coffees has been ensured in the US, according to Getachew, and the US Patent office has recently published a summoning for any company with a claim-against to submit its complaint as a last procedural step before giving full recognition to Ethiopia's rights.
Currently, agreements have been signed with 60 companies in Africa, Europe, Asia and North America to distribute Ethiopian fine coffees.
No company will trade eligibly with Ethiopian coffee names as its trademark, Ato Getachew announced. "No more stealing of Ethiopia's trademark rights." (ENDS)


Britain's leading Muslim police officer sues Met for discrimination
· Decision follows crisis meeting with Blair · Black police association calls for intervention
Vikram Dodd, crime correspondent
The Guardian,
Friday June 27, 2008
Article history
Sir Ian Blair was last night facing his worst race crisis as commissioner of the Metropolitan police, after it was announced that Britain's most senior Muslim officer would sue the force for racial discrimination and victimisation. The decision was announced after assistant commissioner Tarique Ghaffur, the force's number three in command, met with Blair, who had summoned him to crisis talks, with the threat of disciplinary action if he refused to attend.
Blair's attempt to head off the crisis did not work, and after the hour-long meeting, Ghaffur met members of the National Black Police Association (NBPA). Its president and legal adviser, Ali Dizaei, said last night that Ghaffur would sue the force. Dizaei told the Guardian: "No doubt about it, he will sue. He's just had enough."
Ghaffur is not only the most senior Muslim and Asian officer in the country, he is also one of the UK's most senior officers.
Nearly 10 years after the McPherson inquiry found the Met to be "institutionally racist", Ghaffur's accusation of discrimination threatens to undermine the force's claims to have make progress in stamping out racism in its ranks.
He had consulted lawyers for several weeks about taking the Met to an employment tribunal. He believes Blair and his aides have sidelined and undermined him, especially over his role running policing for the London Olympics in 2012.
Dizaei said the government should now intervene. He added: "This is of such significance it should not be left to the police authority [which oversees the Met] to mediate. Senior ministers must get involved because of the risk to confidence in the police."
In a statement, the NBPA, which will represent and support Ghaffur, said: "AC Ghaffur appears to have been treated extremely poorly. We are totally convinced of the legitimacy of this claim and will be fully supporting AC Ghaffur with regard to this matter, together with the 43 local BPAs around the country."
Arriving at the meeting with the commissioner, which was officially about the Olympics, Ghaffur said he had nothing to fear: "I have the great privilege of working with hundreds of police officers in making London safer. These officers work day in and day out and do a brilliant job. It is also a great privilege in doing the work I do with communities and the great amount of work in relation to the Olympics. I intend to continue doing that."
Earlier, Blair had made a public statement at the start of the monthly meeting of the Metropolitan Police Authority, to which he answers. He demanded that Ghaffur explain himself in person. He told the MPA: "I hope that this will be resolved satisfactorily between us, but will state here publicly that every member of the Met works to my direction and must meet my reasonable requirements.
"Any other position is impossible. If that does not occur, I will deal with the matter robustly and quickly."
Both sources favouring the commissioner and those close to Ghaffur viewed the commissioner's statement as "bullish". One source said the mood among the upper level of Scotland Yard was "sorrow and regret", and that Blair was trying to assert his authority to stop the situation spiralling further out of control.
The commissioner cannot discipline senior officers, but he has the power to refer senior officers to the MPA for alleged disciplinary offences.
In his statement, Blair praised Ghaffur, and denied he had acted in a racist manner: "I believe I have a long, honourable and occasionally bloodstained record of the championing of diversity, not perfect but always principled and persistent."
Ghaffur is the latest senior ethnic minority officer to decide to sue the Met for discrimination. Dizaei, who is a commander in the Met, received a payout in his case, while the case of Shabir Hussain is still being heard.
The chairman of the MPA, Len Duvall, who believes Ghaffur's employment tribunal action may name him, said: "I have done nothing wrong in the way of racism or otherwise in carrying out my responsibilities in the last four years. It is the same for my actions that have been carried out by the Metropolitan Police Authority. Any claim against myself or the authority will be vigorously contested."