Thursday, 15 May 2014

Starbucks Trademark Enforcement: When A Cease-And-Desist Letter Is Also A Promotional Opportunity

From the ibtimes:


When it comes to aggressive trademark enforcement, few companies are more notorious than Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX). Lawyers for the Seattle-based coffee/cafe giant are as quick with a cease-and-desist letter as its baristas are with an espresso machine. The result has been some of the most memorable trademark skirmishes in recent history, including Starbucks’ 12-year battle to prohibit a family-owned New Hampshire roaster from selling a coffee called “Charbucks,” a fight Starbucks lost last year.

But the company’s well-earned reputation for litigiousness has also made it a target for what can only be described as cease-and-desist trolling, willful attempts by attention-seekers looking to provoke a reaction from the company by using the Starbucks name and famous green siren logo without its permission. Comedy Central’s Nathan Fielder, who is behind the parody pop-up shop “Dumb Starbucks Coffee,” is a key example.

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