Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc., which plans to introduce an espresso maker this year to compete with Starbucks Corp., trademarked the name Rivo for a machine to make such drinks.

The name Rivo, which means “stream” in Italian, was trademarked by Green Mountain’s Keurig Inc. unit this year for electric brewing and electric espresso machines, according to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office website. Waterbury, Vermont-based Green Mountain previously said it is working with Luigi Lavazza SpA to develop an espresso maker.

“We’ve not made a product announcement related to that name,” Suzanne DuLong, a Green Mountain spokeswoman, said in an interview.

Green Mountain is facing more competition as grocers and other manufacturers, such as Safeway Inc. and Rogers Family Co., make private-label capsules to fit into Keurig machines. While the main patents for K-Cups expire in September, Chief Executive Officer Lawrence Blanford has recently started selling the more- expensive Vue machine and single-serve cups.

The Rivo is another step to help Green Mountain combat emerging rivals as it struggles to accurately forecast capsule sales. Green Mountain’s espresso machine will likely compete with Starbucks’s Verismo single-serve beverage maker, which will be sold in the U.S. this year online, in some Starbucks cafes and in specialty retailers.

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz announced in March that the Verismo would specialize in high-pressure, espresso drinks and would also make brewed coffee. The Seattle-based company hasn’t released pricing information for the Verismo.

Lavazza, based in Italy, owned 5 percent of Green Mountain as of February 24, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.