According to reports, on the morning of the 19th, the Royal 50R Group of Thailand officially filed a lawsuit with the court, demanding that the court order China Luckin Coffee to compensate for economic losses of 10 billion Thai baht (approximately RMB 2.046 billion). The court has filed and accepted this case.
On the 20th, the entry "Thailand Luckin claims 10 billion Thai baht from China Luckin Coffee" surged on hot search, and the dispute over the trademark of China Thailand Luckin Coffee has once again sparked heated discussions.
Thai Luckin claims billions
The war over trademark infringement of Zhongtai Ruixing Coffee had already ignited two years ago. At that time, some netizens expressed that they had tasted "Gao Fangrui Xing" in Thailand, with almost identical visual designs except for the direction of the deer antlers in Thai. Luckin Coffee later issued a statement stating that the company did not open any stores in Thailand and that Luckin's stores in Thailand were counterfeit stores.
In 2021, China Luckin Coffee filed a lawsuit against the Central Court of Intellectual Property and International Trade in Thailand, accusing the 50R Group of maliciously registering a trademark. In this regard, the lower court ruled against the defendant and requested the revocation of the relevant trademark registration, and ordered the defendant to stop using the trademark.
In March of this year, the defendant, Royal Thai 50R Group, deemed the judgment unfair and appealed to the court. At the end of November, the case was heard again, and the next day, 50R Group won the case.
On the morning of December 19th, the Royal 50R Group of Thailand officially submitted a lawsuit to the court, requesting that the court order China Luckin Coffee to compensate for economic losses of 10 billion Thai baht. Currently, the court has filed and accepted the case.
According to reports, the documents submitted by the Royal Thai 50R Group to the court show that it had legally registered the Luckin trademark with the Thai Ministry of Commerce in 2020, and everything was handled in accordance with Thai legal rules and procedures, and was allowed to use the trademark to operate coffee shop businesses selling tea and coffee and other beverages. Therefore, 50R Group believes that Luckin's actions have damaged its commercial reputation.
Specifically, the 50R Group's lawsuit includes three economic compensation claims:
The defendant has seriously damaged the commercial reputation of 50R Group. As a well-known Thai enterprise, it holds trademarks that are well-known to the Thai people. The plaintiff stated that the company had originally planned to expand to over 10000 coffee shops worldwide in a short period of time and was preparing to list on the Thai Stock Exchange. The defendant's illegal behavior caused the plaintiff's plan to be interrupted, resulting in serious economic losses. Therefore, we request compensation of 900000000 Thai baht. Detailed evidence and factual information will be submitted to the court at the next interrogation hearing.
2. Before the final judgment of the case was made in court, China Luckin Coffee authorized its authorized agent to illegally seize the property inside the 50R Group coffee shop, causing serious humiliation and losses. Requesting compensation of 995000000 Thai baht for this.
3. Due to China Luckin's illegal accusations, 50R Group is required to invest in hiring professional lawyers and legal advisors to defend its case, and demand compensation of 5000000 Thai baht for the expenses incurred.
"The Sino Thai Luckin Coffee trademark dispute to some extent reflects local protectionism at the legal level in Thailand." Yu Yunting, a senior partner and intellectual property lawyer at Shanghai Dabang Law Firm, believes that this local protectionism deviates from the principle of the rule of law and is only based on the location of the parties involved, protecting them and trampling on fairness.
On the afternoon of December 20th, Luckin Coffee officially forwarded relevant news and responded, "Regarding the issue of being claimed 10 billion baht by Thai fake Luckin Coffee, the situation still needs to be verified." And attached a sentence in Thai, which means: "I don't understand, but I am greatly shocked!"
Brand faces trademark difficulties when going global
Coincidentally, Cha Yan Yue Se has also encountered similar overseas trademark registration incidents. A student studying in South Korea has registered the trademark of Cha Yan Yue Se and opened a milk tea shop in South Korea. Due to the lack of prior trademark application in South Korea, Cha Yan Yue Se was unable to prevent the emergence of "piracy" in South Korea. In the announcement, the official reluctantly stated, "We are aware that the other party's behavior is legal and we have no right to interfere."
Another internet celebrity in the catering industry, Master Bao, was also not spared. In early December, a netizen posted on social media about a newly opened pastry shop called "Master Bao" in London, whose signs, products, and employee clothing are highly similar to the Chinese brand "Master Bao".
On the 10th of the same month, Bao Shifu Pastry released a statement about its overseas infringing stores, stating that "there have been some unauthorized stores operating under the Bao Shifu brand in overseas markets.". Unlike Luckin and Chayan Yuese, Bao Shifu's related personnel publicly responded in a media interview, saying, "We have already registered the Bao Shifu trademark overseas. The evidence of infringement of the knockoff version of 'Bao Shifu' in London, UK is very clear. Currently, the evidence collection has been basically completed. Bao Shifu will take up legal weapons, protect his own rights and interests in a legal manner, and protect consumer interests."
The current trend is for Chinese brands to set sail overseas, but there are still difficulties in protecting their overseas trademarks.
The 2022 International Trademark Monitoring and Warning Report released by the China Trademark Association disclosed the trademark monitoring status of 313 member companies in 189 countries and regions worldwide. The report shows that in 2022, member companies suspected of being registered with trademarks overseas accounted for 7%. Among the 22 well-known enterprises with registered trademarks, on average, each enterprise was registered in about 1.8 countries/regions, which is much higher than the 0.8 countries/regions in 2021.
Intellectual property law has strict regional characteristics. The so-called regionalism refers to the fact that intellectual property rights can only be generated in accordance with the laws of one country and can only be effective within the territory in which they are generated in accordance with the law.
You Yunting suggests that in the era of globalization, companies should apply for overseas trademarks, patents, etc. as early as possible. Specifically, in terms of trademarks, international trademark registration can be carried out through the Madrid procedure. This program can help applicants apply to designated contracting parties covered by the Madrid procedure through the World Intellectual Property Organization, expanding the protection of trademarks in their country of origin to designated contracting parties.