Long Road

I haven’t been able to find too much on this yet, but here’s the news so far…

MEXICO CITY – US COFFEE giant Starbucks has agreed to pay intellectual property rights owed to Mexico for a line of coffee mugs showing pre-Hispanic images, a company statement said on Thursday. Starbucks has withdrawn the mugs, which contained images of the Aztec calendar and a pyramid from pre-Aztec ruins near Mexico City, from shop shelves. Starbucks Mexico said on Thursday that the supplier of the mugs had sought approval for the images from government archaeological agency since 2008, but had failed to receive it.

‘Starbucks Mexico assumes responsibility … and is prepared to pay the amount corresponding to the use of these images,’ a statement said, apologising for ‘any misunderstanding.’ The National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) was still studying the issue, a spokesman said on Thursday. ‘We haven’t asked for any compensation yet from the company, nor has a figure been established, but it’s certain that they’ll have to pay rights,’ said Francisco de Anda. — AFP

It sounds like it is the INAH who lodged the claim, but I’m not certain about that or whom they are or were representing. I also haven’t seen an of the offending mugs. This type of case could provide a platform for making the claims of Indigenous IPR more visible, if people can get past the public domain argument about Indigenous imagery. I’ll hunt for more information.