Bangkok: Starbucks demands arrests in IP case

[Hugh Jarse]

Isn't imitation considered the highest form of flattery?

Starbucks the U.S. coffee chain should pay the men THB.300,000 plus interest for the publicity they have generated for Starbucks.

Just check out the business ethics of Starbucks, indeed somewhat lacking in ethics.

Never used them and grossly overpriced, far better to use the Thai equivalents, IMO.

[robblok]

I've tasted the coffee off the cart

It's affordable

No where like the high price

That's charged by The large chain rip off

And a third of the cost !

They should not waste more time and money let the poor man earn a living

All of the coffee is a copy of the original

The original is after all the first one ?

Use an other logo and they would not have a problem. Why leech of other brands fame.

[Briggsy]

I am the Great Cornholio. I need TP for my bunghole.

[capt_canada42]

Good coffee has been around Thailand for a long time it just depends where you go and who you know as they have been growing coffee for a long time and many know how to make a good cup

Edited October 18, 2013 by capt_canada42

[bigbamboo]

Well it appears Starbucks aren't getting too much sympathy for the way the American behemoth corporation is bullying a couple of locals for trying to earn some money for their families. I suppose if their local rivals expanded their operations and bought another cart that could be seen as a serious threat to Starbucks and people might feel more sympathetic to the coffee giant's plight.

And maybe if they weren't a greedy, tax dodging international corporation they would get even more sympathy?

Edited October 18, 2013 by metisdead
Large font reset to normal.

[capt_canada42]

Well it appears Starbucks aren't getting too much sympathy for the way the American behemoth corporation is bullying a couple of locals for trying to earn some money for their families. I suppose if their local rivals expanded their operations and bought another cart that could be seen as a serious threat to Starbucks and people might feel more sympathetic to the coffee giant's plight.

And maybe if they weren't a greedy, tax dodging international corporation they would get even more sympathy?

to true .... nite ladies ..

[Frank James]

I lived in Seattle for many years. Went to the very first Starbucks store when it was the only one in the world. I can't believe what a soul-less octopus they have become. Quite reflective of the personality of its owner, Howard Schultz, the man who sold the Seattle Sonics down the river. Pure scum.

[expat888]

Another no class american company

If you are gonna charge american prices you should pay the american wages to the employees

5 bucks for a coffee and 5 bucks for a muffin ... no thanks

That may not much of a deal because wages aren't that good in the US anymore.

[Emdog]

Boys, boys.... yes, a blatant rip off, regardless of the reasons. Should be given cease and desist. Suing for 300k isn't the same as getting it. A company needs to be relentless in pursuing infringement or else they lose control of the brand. Thailand markets are full of this kind of stealing: Diadas, The Mouth Face come to mind, with infinite variations on Panasonic. The Ovation guitar with roundback and oddly placed sound holes has been infringed on countless times. Why? Because they didn't go after the bastards. New Balance is very proactive in running down copies. Once you lose the association of the name with product, you have just lost that profitable advantage.

I am from Pacific NW, where it seems much of the US coffee culture went nuts first. I prefer local cafes, they put out a much superior product. Benjamit blows them away for instance. People go to Starbucks for same reason they go to McDonalds: it may not be good, but there are no surprises. Plus there is the status element here in Thailand that can't be overlooked (yes, for you newbies, it is status to go to McD's and KFC!).

[richard10365]

Wow...next thing you know Pepsi will be suing EST cola for....

[givenall]

Difficult to see how anyone could confuse Starbucks with a Thai lookalike.

I'm sure they couldn't get away with charging half a day's wages for a cup of coffee.

If we stop all the cheats, the world would be a better place. No excuse because of the size of the violation

[mrtoad]

It's out and out IP theft, I remember form 10-12 years ago there was a blatant rip off in Kata, of the Starbucks name and logo, can't rumbler the name, but it was a total piss take. I don't see why Somchai etc, should just get away with it, and this is not just related to small operators, but Thailand almost gives tacit approval to this sort of BS. It's the definition of Thainess.

[bigbamboo]

Difficult to see how anyone could confuse Starbucks with a Thai lookalike.

I'm sure they couldn't get away with charging half a day's wages for a cup of coffee.

If we stop all the cheats, the world would be a better place. No excuse because of the size of the violation

Agreed.

Does that include tax cheats too?

[Tywais]

Its clearly a Copy Right infringement

Actually it is not a Copyright infringement but a Trademark infringement. They are both mechanisms of IP but cover different things.

A trademark protects something that is used to identify where a product or a service comes from. A trademark describes something and is not the thing being described. An example of a trademark would be a corporate identity, such as a logo, which is placed on products to inform consumers that the product came from that particular company.

A copyright protects the expression of a person’s ideas. Copyright protection is given to creative works like writing, computer programs, music, lyrics, graphic designs, sculpture, photographs, movies, and sound recordings. The expression must be “original,” which, in this context, means a work that is not an exact copy of another work.

Source

[lee b]

how about taking these lot to court for a rip-off under average tasting coffee

[dru2]

Well it appears Starbucks aren't getting too much sympathy for the way the American behemoth corporation is bullying a couple of locals for trying to earn some money for their families. I suppose if their local rivals expanded their operations and bought another cart that could be seen as a serious threat to Starbucks and people might feel more sympathetic to the coffee giant's plight.

And maybe if they weren't a greedy, tax dodging international corporation they would get even more sympathy?

to true .... nite ladies ..

Starbucks suck. Monopoly capitalist mofos. f'em.

[harryfrompattaya]

Another no class american company

If you are gonna charge american prices you should pay the american wages to the employees

5 bucks for a coffee and 5 bucks for a muffin ... no thanks

I have never brought from them

I can not believe their prices but people do love them I think these people are sick

[fab4]

Boys, boys.... yes, a blatant rip off, regardless of the reasons. Should be given cease and desist. Suing for 300k isn't the same as getting it. A company needs to be relentless in pursuing infringement or else they lose control of the brand. Thailand markets are full of this kind of stealing: Diadas, The Mouth Face come to mind, with infinite variations on Panasonic. The Ovation guitar with roundback and oddly placed sound holes has been infringed on countless times. Why? Because they didn't go after the bastards. New Balance is very proactive in running down copies. Once you lose the association of the name with product, you have just lost that profitable advantage.

I am from Pacific NW, where it seems much of the US coffee culture went nuts first. I prefer local cafes, they put out a much superior product. Benjamit blows them away for instance. People go to Starbucks for same reason they go to McDonalds: it may not be good, but there are no surprises. Plus there is the status element here in Thailand that can't be overlooked (yes, for you newbies, it is status to go to McD's and KFC!).

Are you for real? 2 guys and a cart. I've never heard of Starbung coffee and probably still wouldn't have until this article came about because Starbucks were "keeping control of their brand".

If they spent more time making sure they could "make a profit in the UK" they wouldn't have to worry about two guys and a cart in Thailand.

Here's the offending cart courtesy of "a facebook contributor". Please let me know how that is making Starbucks lose control of their brand.

Starbucks facebook page is getting a bit of a pasting, deservedly so.

Edited October 18, 2013 by fab4

[harryfrompattaya]

Another no class american company

If you are gonna charge american prices you should pay the american wages to the employees

5 bucks for a coffee and 5 bucks for a muffin ... no thanks

I understand.......too expensive for you chaps. That's a good thing. Starbucks keeps out the riff raff. It's no different than choosing to eat at MCD's or the Banyan Tree. You get what you pay for. You Starbuck hating wanke_rs PLEASE do go somewhere else for coffee. Stay outta my Starbucks.

Starbucks= good coffee, good atmosphere, priced right and keeping out the backpackers, wanke_rs, beggers, etc. In fact I would like to see them raise the prices a bit more.

The rest of you go drink coffee with the monkeys and hooligans, PLEASE stay out of Starbucks where you all can't afford it anyway.

Starbucks should take those Thai monkey Damrongs to task. I hope justice is done and they are thrown in jail. Then they can really expand their Bunghole business!!! LOL

I bet you watch your electric meter

[Nalo56]

There's a KFG in Chiangmai and lots of others ripping off company names all over Thailand. hey are taught to copy in school and this is just a continuation of this.

Look at any large department store in Bangkok or anywhere. One floor for phones, one floor for accessories, one floor for the same clothes. If you come up with a good business idea here, you can be sure in about 2 weeks, someone will copy you and open either next door or a few doors down.

Its funny to look at their confused look when there are 20 shops all selling the same thing and they can't for the life of them, understand why they are not busy.

There shoulalld be a surprise that many copycats exist anywhere in Asia. Such good example is the Chili Sauce called Thaibasco!!! Sounds familiar???? Here is photo of the real Tabasco Sauce and the copy version.....

[MESmith]

If I was opening a coffee shop or cart selling quality coffee in Thailand, the last name I would want to be associated with or confused with would be St@rbucks

[ratcatcher]

I wonder if these are bothered by the Starbucks story?

[Tim1980]

Starbung logo doesn't look somewhere close to Starbucks, why are they crying? I see logo looking like a hungry monkey ð

Edited October 18, 2013 by Tim1980

[fab4]

Its clearly a Copy Right infringement

Actually it is not a Copyright infringement but a Trademark infringement. They are both mechanisms of IP but cover different things.

A trademark protects something that is used to identify where a product or a service comes from. A trademark describes something and is not the thing being described. An example of a trademark would be a corporate identity, such as a logo, which is placed on products to inform consumers that the product came from that particular company.

A copyright protects the expression of a person’s ideas. Copyright protection is given to creative works like writing, computer programs, music, lyrics, graphic designs, sculpture, photographs, movies, and sound recordings. The expression must be “original,” which, in this context, means a work that is not an exact copy of another work.

Source

Be that as it may but the original brown logo they used was supposedly based on a 15th Century Norse woodcut according to the Co-Founder Schultz. Bit of a problem there as there weren't any norsemen going about the place in the early 1400's when woodcut printing first surfaced in medieval Europe. Never mind that, it eventually morphed into the logo they've got now. If you have a look at the original logo here (an interesting read about the logo) http://www.deadprogrammer.com/starbucks-logo-mermaid and compare it to "Starbungs" one. Well, a bit of stretch of the imagination there I feel.

[Krataiboy]

Years ago one of my favourite Bangkok hotels was forced to change its name from Playboy to PB after the threat of a lawsuit from Uncle Hef. Now Starbucks is flexing its corporate muscles in a sign of worse to come.

There will be a lot more of this kind of thing, plus a great deal worse, if Thailand goes ahead and signs up to the US-promoted Trans Pacific Partnership currently being negotiated behind closed doors.

Basically, it is a Trojan horses for a global bid to extend corporate control over just about every aspect of our lives, including our working conditions, the environment, what we eat and drink and our use of the Internet.

I am just an ordinary guy with no axe to grind who only discovered the scary truth about these intentions by accident. Do yourself a favour, if you believe in democracy and personal freedom, and go to http://www.flushthetpp.org/

[moe666]

Starbucks need to get over themselves and extract their head from their collective corporate arse.

The only humorous thing Starbucks is hearing Americans rave on about how good the coffee is. Most of the world wouldn't even degrease their car engines with the stuff.

hehehehehehe how little you know they get 30 percent or more of there corporate profit from overseas. hehehehehehe Do a bit of research before posting nonsense. I do not like coffee but I like the money I have made owning there stock.

[rametindallas]

how can a company who did pay less than 2% tax of their turnover to the society ask a goverment institution for help?

Tell the company´s like Apple, Starbucks, VW, and so on, START PAYING TAX where you earn your money and then you can expact help from institution who are paid my tax money.

may be George Lukas should take them to court also for copying his brand

Do you pay taxes you don't owe? If you have a problem with certain companies not paying what you think is their fair share, get your government to change the tax laws or, if you think those companies are cheating on their taxes, lobby to have the tax laws enforced more stringently.

In my experience, governments are not shy about going after all the taxes they can and BTW George Lukas? is a big boy and he will sue if he wants to. Why do you want George Lukas to fight your battles for you?

[Alwyn]

Its clearly a Copy Right infringement - It's obvious that the Coffee cart owners set out from the offset to use the Starbucks brand to their own advantage. Yes, its a bit of a David & Goliath situation, however, that doesn't detract from the fact that this is Copying and against IP laws.

Its unfortunate for the owners that they have been the ones chose by Starbucks when there are so many others. This issue has very little to do with money, it has everything to do with protecting their brand. Starbucks are drawing a line in the sand.

They are telling other business owners: It's Damrong to Copy someone else's brand. Get off your Damras'ses and create your own brand...

Yes, I agree with you.. said nobody, ever

[rametindallas]

What idiot would confuse the two?

As long as someone isn't fooled into thinking they are getting something they're not there is no problem.

Anyone who doesn't know how to read English or is not very observant and there are millions. Let's say, for argument, that you created something and made a logo for it. Your product is not very good but you have spent millions to convince a segment of society that you are the ultimate status symbol. (Many high-end labels do this) Why did these brothers make their logo so similar to Starbucks? They want a free ride on all the money spent by Starbuck to fool people into thinking their coffee was the best. How hard would it have been for the brothers to come up with an original logo? If the brothers' coffee is better, wouldn't they beat Starbucks in the marketplace? No, because it take millions to fool people as much as Starbucks has. Starbucks spent the money and deserve the benefits: the brothers didn't spend the money and don't deserve to benefit from someone else's investment.

[metisdead]

A post containing a link to Bangkok Post has been removed as per forum rule 31:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?app=forums&module=extras&section=boardrules