Cape Town — The Ethiopian government is celebrating a major victory in a long-running dispute over who owns the patent for products made from teff - an ancient grain that forms the basis of Ethiopia's staple food, injera.

Fitsum Arega, an Ethiopian diplomat who is the current Ethiopian Ambassador to the United States has confirmed the news in a tweet, celebrating the 'good news'.

"Thank you all. I just learned that The Court of The Hague ruled against the Teff patent holder. This is great news. I hope we can learn from this that our national assets must be protected by Ethiopians and friends of Ethiopia," Arega, who's also a former director general of the Ethiopian Investment Commission and the Chief of Staff of the Prime Minister of Ethiopia tweeted.