Cacao Chocolate™ is Intellectual Property
Indigenous Chocolate™ is our common-law trademark and natural heritage as Indigenous Peoples of the Americas. The two words both legally describe our product and are extremely unique, there are less than 13 Indigenous Tribes that are authorized in law to use these words to describe their product. Chocolate™ is also a common-law trademark that our tribe licenses for use internationally. No company may use Chocolate™ or Cacao™ without Free, Prior and Informed Consent by our tribe.
Who, What and Why of Indigenous Chocolate?
As subjective term(s) INDIGENOUS CHOCOLATE has different meanings to us as the only authority that can state that we are the only legal origin and the only legal source of Theobroma cacao as an indigenous (endemic) plant species within our territory:
Indigenous chocolate - This is chocolate that belongs ethnobotanically and bromatologically to the Indigenous cultures that claim to have discovered the properties of Theobroma cacao and incorporated it into their religion and society as their cultural intellectual property. The first account of "Indigenous chocolate" was written in 1644, non-indigenous colonial chocolate emerged, by 1700 there was no Indigenous chocolate being produced for export.
indigenous chocolate - This is any common chocolate that is made by Indigenous peoples within Indigenous territory from Indigenous cacao, it refers to the place where chocolate originated and was first grown. Normally Indigenous chocolate is prepared locally and is only compared to chocolate produced outside the region.
Indigenous Chocolate - Written in this orthographic style the term serves as our wordmark and common descriptive trade name; but it is not too descriptive or generic because the term cannot be used legally in trade by other chocolate makers.
Please do not use the term "Indigenous chocolate" to describe your product or as a trademark or trade dress. The trademark held in common law by the Indigenous peoples is protected, you cannot take us to court for using the term because we are a sovereign entity; but that is not to say that we are not warning you or policing our trademark and copyrights. There are entities that can take you to court on our behalf that hold a legal interest in our autonomy.
INDIGENOUS CHOCOLATE is a proprietary trademark (TM) of the Huottuja-De'aruhua People as declared by their Sovereign Indigenous Court in Las Pavas, Rio Cataniapo, in 2019 De'Aruhua Indigenous Chocolate decided to use the trademark in their name as its only known originators. As a Trademark it is entitled under common law and the Lanham Act in the United States; Title 15 U.S. Code § 1125 - False designations of origin, false descriptions, and dilution forbidden. The Piaroa Nation is also seeking to protect the Theobroma cacao genome and its own integrity as the origin and source of Theobroma cacao which has been taken and used without Free, Prior or Informed Consent (FPIC).