So bold! Unexpectedly operating Starbucks illegally

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Recently, according to foreign media ABC News, the Starbucks Cafe in the Iraqi capital Baghdad is still open after being threatened by the law. The cafe uses authentic Starbucks cups and serves authentic Starbucks coffee, from signs outside to napkins inside, with the official mermaid logo of multinational coffee chains, enough to make people look real.

But in fact, the store is just a well-designed knockoff store ──, which is not authorized by Starbucks headquarters. Starbucks imports all Starbucks goods from neighboring countries, blatantly infringing the multibillion-dollar coffee company's trademark, and Starbucks is suing to stop the trademark infringement.

It is understood that the Associated Press interviewed three Iraqi legal figures related to the case, they said that as early as the beginning of 2020, Starbucks hired the company's lawyer to file a lawsuit to close the unlicensed store, but the case was suspended after the fake store owner was suspected of threatening the lawyer hired by Starbucks headquarters. Amin Makhsusi, the fake store owner, told lawyers that they should proceed with caution. He has friendly ties with militias and powerful politicians, including armed factions.

But when Makhsusi was interviewed again in September, he denied threatening lawyers, saying he was just a businessman with connections to powerful politicians because doing business in Iraq needed those relationships to avoid problems, especially given that the situation in Iraq is unstable for business.

Makhsusi tried legally to apply for a license from Starbucks' official agent in the Middle East, but was refused, and then tried, unsuccessfully, to talk to company officials through his contacts in the United States.

But in the end, he decided to open it and said he would bear the consequences. Makhsusi described his decision to open a Starbucks store as a victory over adversity, saying that his mermaid-marked cups, mixing sticks, napkins and other Starbucks goods were obtained through his contacts in Turkey and Europe, and that the coffee was authentic Starbucks coffee, no different from the real Starbucks stores.

Makhsusi said it had held a meeting with lawyers hired by Starbucks to try to reach an understanding with the coffee chain, but so far no solution had been reached.

Starbucks believes that the knockoff Starbucks in Baghdad is just one example of the serious piracy problem there. Iraq has become the center of trademark infringement and piracy, stealing everything from retail and online streaming films to coffee products. apart from poor self-regulation, the perpetrators of intellectual property violations have been so bold, largely because of being sheltered by powerful groups.

According to companies affected by piracy and US officials familiar with the case, piracy not only harms the goodwill of well-known brands, causes huge losses to companies, and even endangers lives.

Now, in response to a request for comment from the Associated Press, a Starbucks spokesman said: "the stores in Baghdad are not run by Starbucks or authorized business partners, and we are deciding what to do next. Starbucks has invested heavily in brand and intellectual property development, and we have an obligation to protect our intellectual property rights from infringement and retain exclusive rights to them."

Photo Source: Internet

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