In 2003, a Dutch human named Jans Roosjen filed a patent on teff, claiming to have invented it, and demanding a halt to virtually every means of preparing the grain. As the patent holder for teff, Roosjen struck lucrative deals with other EU companies -- and froze Ethiopia and its people out of access to European markets. Ethiopia itself lacked the resources to invalidate Roosjen's patent, so it remained in force until Roosjen threatened another Dutch company for making teff without paying him for a license. Roosjen's patent was invalidated in 2014, and this week, the deadline for an appeal passed, meaning that the patent is now permanently dead. Ethiopia’s teff flour is no longer patented as a Dutch invention [Abdi Latif Dahir/Quartz](Image: Lelaw Wondimu, CC-BY-SA)(via NK Jemisin)

Source: Ethiopian News February 12, 2019 19:41 UTC