Oxfam Urges Company to Review Strategy and Sign Licensing Agreement
Oxfam International (Boston)
PRESS RELEASE
October 26, 2006
Posted to the web October 26, 2006
Global coffee giant Starbucks has opposed a plan by Ethiopia to gain more control over its coffee trade and a larger share of the earnings for millions of coffee farmers living in poverty, international agency Oxfam revealed today.
Last year the Ethiopian government filed applications to trademark its most famous coffee names, Sidamo, Harar and Yirgacheffe. Securing the rights to these names would enable Ethiopia to capture more value from the trade, by controlling their use in the market and thereby enabling farmers to receive a greater share of the retail price. Ethiopia’s coffee industry and farmers could earn an estimated $88 million (USD) extra per year.
$6 billion company Starbucks prompted protests against the applications to be filed with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The USPTO has denied Ethiopia’s applications for Sidamo and Harar, creating serious obstacles for its project.
Seth Petchers, of Oxfam International said: “Starbucks’ behavior is indefensible. The company must change tactics and set an example for others by supporting Ethiopia’s plan to help millions of struggling farmers earn a greater share of the profits.”
“Intellectual property ownership now makes up a huge proportion of the total value of world trade but rich countries and businesses capture most of this. Ethiopia, the birthplace of coffee, and one of the poorest countries in the world, is trying to assert its rights and capture more value from its product. It should be helped, not hindered,” said Ron Layton, chief executive of Light Years IP, a Washington DC-based intellectual property rights organization that is helping to advise the Ethiopian government.
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Read more: http://allafrica.com/stories/200610260790.html
It is horrible that Starbucks won’t give the Ethiopian farmers more rights. I’m sure Starbucks would make enough money if it did this, but the farmers might be struggling without this help.
I’m curious to know what Starbucks’ reasoning is behind their protest of Ethiopia’s plan. I can’t think of one good reason why they would not support a plan that would increase the country’s economic development. Well, I think I can think of one..money.
I am a huge fan of starbucks but i think its extremely selfish of starbucks not to support the Ethiopian fight for more money. I agree with Seth Petchers in a sense that starbucks is a huge company which needs to set an example for other small company and i believe this would be a good way to do so. besides they have enough money to be this selfish is ridiculous.
I am well knowledge with many business decisions and here I think Starbuck’s does not want Ethiopians to gain control over its coffee trade. They might feel it maybe dangerous for future references because then they can be strong enough to probably build their own market and beat out Starbuck’s because it has a larger market. Although this maybe a possibiltiy I feel Starbuck’s can strategize this better and still help the market still grow. I feel they are not negotiating they just act and feel that the plan is bad and there is no way around it.
Surprise, surprise. A big corporation wants to make more money at the expense of someone else. While I think a poor country like Ethiopia does deserve an opportunity to make money, I am not surprise that they are acting this way.
Starbucks is just one of many large corporations that take advantage of cheap labor in third-world countries. It’s just not fair – these giants make so much money off of these laborers, yet they can’t even pay them enough to feed their family. I read somewhere that in sweatshops affiliated with Disney, they would force the female workers to take birth control pills. Fewer children equals fewer people to support in a family, which equals less pay. It’s simply inhumane.
This it the problem with society. Big business believes they can do whatever they want, without regard to anyone else, inlcuding people. Incredible