Storm in a coffee mug: Starbucks versus Sardarbuksh

NEW DELHI: Ever been to a Sardarbuksh for a coffee? Now’s the time if you haven’t because if the Delhi High Court rules against New Delhi-based entrepreneurs being sued by Starbucks, the Sardarbuksh brand will be history. But maybe, you can have your coffee at Sardarji-Buksh.

Starbucks, the US-headquartered global coffee chain that reinvented coffee branding, was not amused when Sardarbuksh opened for business in five outlets in Delhi, with not just a name that the Seattle-based company found to be “deceptively similar” to its own but also a logo that it felt was too close to its globally famous brand image.

Suit was duly filed in Delhi High Court, and the court in its interim order on August 1asked the local defendants to change their chain’s brand name to Sardarji-Buksh, and change its logo as well. “We will address any infringement to our brand, including trademarks,” a Starbucks spokesperson said in an emailed response to ET’s queries. “We always prefer to resolve trademark disputes informally and amicably whenever possible, and to prevent confusion among customers.” Starbucks entered India through a joint venture with Tata Group in 2012.


The local company’s upcoming 30 outlets will sport the new branding, while the five older outlets will carry the Sardarbuksh branding till the court’s final verdict. The next hearing is on September 18.Sandeep Singh Kalra, one of the two partners of Sardarbuksh, told ET his company had changed its logo last year after it got a legal notice from Starbucks objecting to it.

SUIT FILED IN JULY
He said an internal team had designed the new logo. Then in July, the Seattle coffee chain giant filed the suit. Rohit Kamboj, the other partner, said his brand name has nothing to do with that of Starbucks. Kamboj said he and his partner have never been to a Starbucks outlet before naming his firm. He insists the name is a simple amalgamation of Sardar and Buksh.

Starbucks runs 28,000 outlets in 70 countries. There are 125 Starbucks-branded outlets in the country. And if India produced Sardarbuksh, can Pakistan be far behind? Indeed, Pakistan was there earlier — in 2013, a Pakistani businessman opened a Sattarbucks café with logo that was different from that of Starbucks and in that a bearded gentleman replaced the lady.

Local entrepreneurs with a seemingly flexible notion of trademarks, have encountered big company action in other occasions, too. In 2015, Ludhiana-based street vendor Ravinder Pal Singh Babbar, who operated Mr Singh Burger King, changed the brand to Mr Singh Food King after US-based Burger King dragged the street vendor to court.

But the Sardarbuksh v Starbucks battle may be tougher. Kalra said his company is prepared to fight it out for the brand name in the court. Law firm SS Rana is handling the Starbucks case, while a battery of senior lawyers are appearing for Sardarbuksh. There’s more storm in this coffee mug.