Coffee regulator, the Coffee Industry Board (CIB), wants to register Blue Mountain under a new legal method linking it to Jamaica's geography having mostly failed to register it as a trademark.

It's not academic, but an attempt to stop African and other impersonators from taking advantage of the ambiguous Blue Mountain label. Jamaica Blue Mountain is a registered trademark, but Blue Mountain is too generic to register as a trademark.

"Kenya and Ethiopia are using the name 'Blue Mountain'. In using the name 'Blue Mountain' Kenya says that they used their first coffee plant from Jamaica. They have taken advantage of our uniqueness and brand," said Stacian Bennett, CIB legal officer and Board Secretary speaking to the Observer. "We will explore the possibility of registering the name 'Blue Mountain' as a Geographic Indication (GI) so that the current ambiguity may be resolved."

GI registration links copyright to geography and codes of practice. It means that under GI registration persons will be prohibited from utilising the name 'Jamaica' with coffee unless it is grown in designated locations in Jamaica in accordance with an established Code of Practice.

"As a GI registration of the brand would be indicative of the brand's specific and unique characteristics and world-renowned reputation that is linked to a specific geographical location within which the product is grown and processed," she said.

The Code of Practice for the GI would outline the specific qualities and production techniques and processes that make Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee unique. "Anyone not adhering to or satisfying those requirements will not be able to use the
GI without infringement," she said.

In the short to medium term, the CIB will develop a set of best practices and standards for the Jamaican coffee industry, which will allow it to satisfy the main requirement for registering the brand as a GI.

"We hope to have a working template some time next year," said Bennett.

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