A Dutchman who took out patents on teff flour, a staple part of the Ethiopian diet, has lost his efforts to sue another Dutch company for copyright infringement. Jans Roosjen’s company Ancientgrain, introduced teff to the Netherlands as a crop after receiving patents for mixing and ripening the flower in 2003. The patents had gone unnoticed until 2014, when bakery giant Bakels advertised a teff flour mix on its website. Ancientgrain went on to file a case against Bakels alleging patent infringement. ‘The claim to process teff by the patent holder is null and void in the Netherlands.’‘This is great news.

Source: Ethiopian News February 08, 2019 14:03 UTC