Recently, Starbucks Coffee Company (hereinafter refers to as Starbucks), one of the world 500 fortunes, filed a lawsuit before the Beijing No.1 Intermediate Court against the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board (TRAB) under the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC) and its decision of maintaining the registration of No.3111644 STARBUCK trademark and its devices by Shanghai STK PAINT Company (hereinafter refers to as STK) in Class 2 covering goods of paints and dyes.
In March 2002, STK applied for registration of trademark STARBUCK and its devices before the Trademark Office (TMO) under SAIC. In August, 2003, Starbucks challenged the trademark application through opposition procedure, but was denied by TMO on the ground that the STARBUCKS星巴克trademark can not be regarded as a well-known trademark in China before STK filed trademark of STARBUCK and its devices in Class 2 covering goods of paints and dyes in March 2002. STARBUCK then appealed the decision before the TRAB in 2007, and the TRAB maintained the TMO’s decision.
Starbucks claimed that its trademark STARBUCK星巴克 were already identified as a well-known trademark in China in a trademark dispute case decided by Shanghai Higher People's Court. This was well before the registration of STARBUCK by STK. Before the court, Starbucks argued that STK used its established reputation and copied its well-known mark, therefore should be rejected.
