An Australian company is claiming the word "Freekeh" as a trademark.

See

http://www.greenwheatfreekeh.com.au/gwfabout.htm

and associated links.

My guess is that the word 'Freekeh', for dried green wheat, goes way
back in time and I would have thought it impossible to register it as
a trademark - anymore than somebody could register the word "beans".

Certainly other users of the word don't acknowledge it as a trademark,
for example on the web:

http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/pe...ticleID=109426

and in print "A cook’s guide to grains" by Jenni Muir.

The Oxford English Dictionary doesn't give the word. Does anybody know
something of its history?

Hello, I am relatively certain in this case the TM
is for the entire product name NOT Freeken only ie. the TM is GREEN WHEAT
FREEKEH.

My company uses the product extensively and we are quite knowlegable of it
uses and extended health benefits, simply speaking Freeken has been around
for centuries however has been ...shall we say a little forgotten even
though it is consumed regularly in several countries, please respond to
this if you are interested in knowing more of what we do with it and it's
uses.

O.T. "TOO MANY POSTS": I don't have that Google message right now, but
I've shared it with Andy Smith and a few others here.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
FREEKEH

The Australian product is from 1997. I have a citation from 1994--not
great, but still better than 1997. Perhaps there's a different
spelling for the word? In any case, it appears that "freekeh" cannot
be trademarked.


(PROQUEST NEWSPAPERS)
Food & Drink: Alchemy of the Middle East; [3 Edition]
MICHAEL BATEMAN. The Independent. London (UK): Oct 16, 1994. pg.
NOPGCIT
Abstract (Article Summary)
[Anissa Helou] has prepared lunch from ingredients which are by no
means bizar chicken, wheat, turnips, cucumber, aubergine, apricots,
blackberries, nuts. However, they have been transformed in
extraordinary ways. Anissa is Lebanese and lunch has been cooked to
traditional recipes passed on to her by her mother. Lebanese cooking,
she would claim, is the most sophisticated in the Middle East.

Another of Anissa's guests is the publisher Anne Dolamore (also a keen
cook and author of A Buyer's Guide to Olive Oil). Inspired by eating
in a Lebanese restaurant in Frankfurt when she visits the book fair,
she has persuaded Anissa to make a first foray into writing on food.
So Lebanese Cuisine by Anissa Helou is published by Grub Street this
month at pounds 16.99. Lebanese food is highly regarded, and Lebanese
restaurants in capital cities are for the most part upmarket. Yet
although there are many books on Middle Eastern food, this is the
first to single out Lebanese cuisine.

Anissa made this with freekeh, a rarely used but wonderful ingredient
available from specialist shops. Lebanese farmers harvest this type of
wheat while it is still green and roast it immediately in the fields.
It has a delicate, smoky flavour and cooks quite differently from
burghul, retaining a distinctive fine crunch. The fact that it is not
commonly used does not mean it is difficult to obtain in Britain. It
is available from Lebanese shops, either loose or pre-packed, and at
reasonable prices. There are two different types. The smokier one is
coarsely cracked and brownish-green in colour, whereas the less
roasted one is more bland, with the grains whole and brown in colour.
This recipe uses the more common burghul, or cracked wheat.


(FACTIVA)
Middle East grain makes 2000-year comeback.
127 words
25 February 1997
FoodWeek
7

Grains dating as far back as 7000BC are being produced in commercial
quantities in the United States. Grains such as quinoa, amaranth,
spelt and kamut are being marketed as being healthier than rice, pasta
and potatoes. Greenwheat Freekeh will be launched in Australia during
February 1997. (...)

O.T. "TOO MANY POSTS": I don't have that Google message right now, but
I've shared it with Andy Smith and a few others here.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
FREEKEH

The Australian product is from 1997. I have a citation from 1994--not
great, but still better than 1997. Perhaps there's a different
spelling for the word? In any case, it appears that "freekeh" cannot
be trademarked.


(PROQUEST NEWSPAPERS)
Food & Drink: Alchemy of the Middle East; [3 Edition]
MICHAEL BATEMAN. The Independent. London (UK): Oct 16, 1994. pg.
NOPGCIT
Abstract (Article Summary)
[Anissa Helou] has prepared lunch from ingredients which are by no
means bizar chicken, wheat, turnips, cucumber, aubergine, apricots,
blackberries, nuts. However, they have been transformed in
extraordinary ways. Anissa is Lebanese and lunch has been cooked to
traditional recipes passed on to her by her mother. Lebanese cooking,
she would claim, is the most sophisticated in the Middle East.

Another of Anissa's guests is the publisher Anne Dolamore (also a keen
cook and author of A Buyer's Guide to Olive Oil). Inspired by eating
in a Lebanese restaurant in Frankfurt when she visits the book fair,
she has persuaded Anissa to make a first foray into writing on food.
So Lebanese Cuisine by Anissa Helou is published by Grub Street this
month at pounds 16.99. Lebanese food is highly regarded, and Lebanese
restaurants in capital cities are for the most part upmarket. Yet
although there are many books on Middle Eastern food, this is the
first to single out Lebanese cuisine.

Anissa made this with freekeh, a rarely used but wonderful ingredient
available from specialist shops. Lebanese farmers harvest this type of
wheat while it is still green and roast it immediately in the fields.
It has a delicate, smoky flavour and cooks quite differently from
burghul, retaining a distinctive fine crunch. The fact that it is not
commonly used does not mean it is difficult to obtain in Britain. It
is available from Lebanese shops, either loose or pre-packed, and at
reasonable prices. There are two different types. The smokier one is
coarsely cracked and brownish-green in colour, whereas the less
roasted one is more bland, with the grains whole and brown in colour.
This recipe uses the more common burghul, or cracked wheat.


(FACTIVA)
Middle East grain makes 2000-year comeback.
127 words
25 February 1997
FoodWeek
7

Grains dating as far back as 7000BC are being produced in commercial
quantities in the United States. Grains such as quinoa, amaranth,
spelt and kamut are being marketed as being healthier than rice, pasta
and potatoes. Greenwheat Freekeh will be launched in Australia during
February 1997. (...)