Talks are continuing between the Ethiopian government and US coffee bar chain Starbucks over the Ethiopian government's attempts to obtain trade mark protection for the names of three of its indigenous coffee varieties.

In an unusual move, Ethiopia has elected not to protect its sought-after coffee varieties through certification marks. Instead, the Ethiopian government has filed applications to register the names Sidamo, Harar and Yirgacheffe in more than thirty countries.

Trade marks for all three names have been secured in Canada, two in the EU and one in the US. The government says its action is intended to increase both coffee export revenues and revenues generated by the country's coffee farmers.

As Ethiopia secures trade marks for the coffees, the Ethiopian Intellectual Property Office has launched a programme to license the use of the coffee names to individual coffee companies around the world. Light Years IP, a non profit organization working with the Ethiopian government, says that these licenses, issued free of charge to coffee companies, will allow Ethiopia to work with the industry to build the value of its coffee brands.

Several companies already have signed these agreements, confirming that they agree with the claim to ownership.

But UK-based anti-poverty charity Oxfam has criticised what it calls Starbucks' "opposition to the Ethiopia's trade marking project".

Oxfam said that Ethiopia has "chosen a strategy that best meets its needs, and in consultation with intellectual property experts and legal counsel, has asked Starbucks to sign an agreement that acknowledges Ethiopia's ownership of its coffee names. If Starbucks is genuine in its commitment to farmers it will sign the licensing agreement Ethiopia has offered it".

In a statement, Starbucks said it "fully supports the premise that any protection of specialty coffee names in Ethiopia should benefit Ethiopian coffee farmers".