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Benoît Battistelli , President, European Patent Office ( EPO) : Cancel the Patent Right a Dutch Company took on the process of Teff product
Tamiru W.
started this petition to
Benoît Battistelli , President, European Patent Office ( EPO)
By way of a background, a
2005 agreement between Ethiopia and the Dutch company HPFI gave HPFI access to
12 Ethiopian
teff
varieties, which it was to use for developing new
teff
-based
products for the European market. In return, the company was to share
substantial benefits with Ethiopia.
But the high expectations were never met: The only benefits Ethiopia ever received were 4000 Euro and a small, early interrupted research project.
And then, in 2009, the company went bankrupt. In the years prior to bankruptcy, however, HPFI managed to obtain a broad patent on the processing of teff flour in Europe, covering ripe grain, as well as fine flour, dough, batter and non-traditional teff products. This patent, along with other values of the company, had then been transferred to new companies set up by the same owners.
Here is the full report: http://www.fni.no/news/121112.html
This is important because Teff and its entire value chain of production has been owned by the Ethiopian peasant farmers for thousands of years.
But the high expectations were never met: The only benefits Ethiopia ever received were 4000 Euro and a small, early interrupted research project.
And then, in 2009, the company went bankrupt. In the years prior to bankruptcy, however, HPFI managed to obtain a broad patent on the processing of teff flour in Europe, covering ripe grain, as well as fine flour, dough, batter and non-traditional teff products. This patent, along with other values of the company, had then been transferred to new companies set up by the same owners.
Here is the full report: http://www.fni.no/news/121112.html
This is important because Teff and its entire value chain of production has been owned by the Ethiopian peasant farmers for thousands of years.
Posted
(Updated )
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