US firm takes on E-Coffee over its 'misleading' logo

President Starbucks Coffee Corp (統一星巴克), the firm operating the Taiwanese franchise of Seattle-based Starbucks, yesterday confirmed that its US counterpart has filed a complaint with local authorities over an alleged trademark copyright infringement by its local rival E-Coffee (壹咖啡).

"The US headquarters directly commissioned its local attorney to file a complaint over E-Coffee's trademark registration, as the similarity in logos misleads consumers," President Starbucks' public relations officer Bonnie Chao (趙仁安) said yesterday.

The case is currently under investigation, Chao said.

She said that President Starbucks only found out about its US counterpart's intention to file a complaint on Thursday.

Chao said that she could not comment further, as President Starbucks does not have any involvement in the complaint.

President Starbucks, a 50-50 joint venture, has over 142 outlets across the nation, according to the coffee operator.

The US coffee giant lodged a complaint in October last year to the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) under the Ministry of Economic Affairs over E-Coffee's trademark registration, saying that the similarity would confuse consumers.

E-Coffee has not yet responded to the complaint, the IPO's section chief Chang Hui-ming (張慧明) said.

Since the investigation is still at an early stage, the IPO may require more than a year to reach a decision, Chang said.

Starbucks in the US is reportedly also considering complaints against E-Coffee outlets in a number of other countries, including Hong Kong, China, Singapore, and Japan, where E-Coffee's trademark is registered.

E-Coffee, which has more than 280 franchised outlets, denied that its logo is misleading or infringes upon Starbucks' trademark, according to a report in the Chinese-language media citing the company's president Sam Yen (顏文山).

"We are not the only coffee store in Taiwan using a logo featuring dual circles," Yen is reported to have said.

A number of coffee chain stores, including Barista Coffee (西雅圖咖啡) and IS Coffee (伊是咖啡), use circle motifs in their logos.

E-Coffee's logo features a cup of steaming coffee, which is not at all similar to Starbucks' mermaid with curly hair, Yen said.

Yen said that E-Coffee will not settle the dispute unofficially, and does not rule out the possibility of filing a lawsuit if the IPO delivers an unfavorable ruling.