Uganda’s coffee sector contributes over 20 % of national export earnings and employs more than 1.5 million smallholder
households, yet it remains largely dominated by low-priced, unbranded beans. This paper investigates whether stronger Intellectual
Property Rights (IPRs)—including geographical indications (GIs), trademarks, and plant variety protection—can transform the
industry from a bulk commodity supplier into a premium origin. Combining secondary data with interviews of cooperatives,
exporters, and policymakers, we find that: (i) only a handful of Ugandan coffees, such as “Rwenzori” and “Good African Coffee,” are
currently protected by registered marks, limiting their ability to capture price premiums in EU and North American specialty
markets; (ii) smallholders’ low awareness of IPRs and the high transaction costs of registration remain critical barriers; (iii) Vietnam’s
post-1989 success in branding its Robusta after land titling and trademark campaigns illustrates the potential when IPRs are
embedded in broader agronomic and institutional reforms; and (iv) new EU anti-deforestation regulations, requiring geolocation
traceability, could accelerate adoption of GIs as verifiable origin labels. Counter-intuitively, we show that the short-run compliance
costs of geo-referencing farms may be offset by longer-run price premiums if GIs are simultaneously registered and marketed. We
conclude that IPRs are not a panacea but, when combined with quality upgrading and collective action, can significantly enhance
Uganda’s coffee competitiveness and farmer welfare.