‘Sardarbuksh’ to Become ‘Sardarji-Bakhsh’ After Starbucks Sues the Delhi Based Coffee Chain!
The name will be changed within two months; however, their logo will remain the same which is like Starbuck’s a circle of green and black with a figure at the centre—with a man in a Sikh turban and not a mermaid.
Starbucks, the world’s biggest coffee retailer that had reportedly opened about 25 outlets in the country this year, is upset with an Indian coffee shop chain rhyming with its name and a similar logo. The company reportedly sued the Delhi coffee chain SardarBuksh and began with legal proceedings this week. As per reports, the Delhi High Court ordered the founders to change the names to which the Indian coffee chain agreed, and it will now run its business under the trademark, ‘Sardarji-Bakhsh’ Coffee. The name will be changed within two months; however, their logo will remain the same which is like Starbuck’s a circle of green and black with a figure at the centre—with a man in a Sikh turban and not a mermaid. Sardarbuksh Taken to Delhi High Court by Starbucks, Forced to Change Name of Upcoming Outlets.
Co-founder of SardarBuksh, Sanmeet Singh Kalra told AFP, “Our name rhymed with Starbucks which is why the court has ruled [on Thursday] in their favour.” The United States coffee giant had begun its legal proceedings against the Indian firm at the Delhi HC since July. In 2015, Starbucks filed a suit against a Pakistan-based ‘Sattarbucks’, accusing them of using similar phonetics to appeal customers, violating the copyright rules. The US coffee chain has entered India in partnership with the Tata group. It opened the first outlet in Mumbai in 2012, earning a massive response from the country. At present Starbucks has 125 outlets in India and globally, it runs about 28,000 outlets in 70 countries. Meanwhile, now Sardarji-Buksh which started in 2016 has 25 outlets across New Delhi and soon plan to open more outlets in NCR and nearby states.
This is not the first instance of an Indian brand copying the name or logo design from an International firm. A branding consultant, Harish Bijoor said that the Indian companies often use names that are similar to popular multinational brands. He said, “Such imitators have limited ambition and they enjoy their moment of limelight of having ambushed an iconic brand in India.” In 2015, the United States fast food giant, Burger King reportedly took a street vendor in Ludhiana to court for using the name ‘Mr Singh Burger King’. However, ‘Burger Singh’ has been left untouched with 20 outlets India, planning to expand in the British market.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 29, 2018 11:55 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).