By Ignacio Segovia

This article is for the benefit of those individuals who do not know what "Arepa" means, as well as for those who know of and are fans of "Arepa." I would like to ask for your support to help "free 'Arepa' from its kidnappers."  Before I explain the situation, you need to know the background of "Arepa."

"Arepa" is a traditional Venezuelan dish. The name of the dish is derived from the word "erepa," a word from the Cumanagoto aboriginals, who fall under the Caribbean ethnic group. "Erepa" means corn, which is the main ingredient of the "Arepa" dish. Usually Colombian and Venezuelan people argue about the ownership of the word “Arepa,” basing their arguments on the use of the word in the province of Cartagena around the year 1600.

However, a new and disquieting chapter in this dispute opened recently when a Canadian company named "Arepa Cafe Inc." claimed ownership of the word.

Simply put, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) decided to give the rights of "Arepa" to “Arepa Cafe Inc.”  The company is claiming the rights to any combination of the word “Arepa” with any adjective, in addition to the mix of this word with any circular design. The public announcement states:

The brand AREPA CAFÉ is a registered trademark in Canada.  AREPA & Design is also a registered trademark in Canada. The second trademark means that the use of the word AREPA and a descriptive adjective is already being used and trademarked.  Examples of how the trademark could be used: Arepa Café, Catering, Gallery, Market, etc.

I believe this situation is very serious, not because the company has already threatened one company (Arepa Market) with legal action, but because the CIPO is not paying attention to the immigrant cultures that make up Canada. Thus, I have created this petition to make CIPO aware of its oversight, and to help prevent such oversights in the future. The petition is as follows:

The following people support the petition to the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) to revoke any trademarks related to the word “Arepa.”  Based on culture and tradition, we feel the use of the word “Arepa,” the combination of this word with an open group of words (such as adjectives, adverbs, verbs, nouns, prepositions, etc.), and the use of a circle to refer to this dish, are a universal right. And since the use of the word is a universal right, nobody has the right to register ownership of it.

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/lets-free-arepa/