Starbucks, a coffee corporation with more than 25,00 locations around the globe, is fighting the good fight by forcing a lone coffee kiosk in London to change its name.
The standalone shop, Star Box Coffee has been operating for the past five years without issue, but that all changed this week. Nasser Kamali, the shop’s owner says he was hand-delivered a cease-and-desist letter by the company’s lawyers, according to the Daily Mail.
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Starbucks’ primary complaint? The Star Box Coffee’s name would “weaken” the Starbucks global brand.
“Starbucks requests that you adopt a different trading name (not commencing STAR) and change the signage used at your premises, along with the stickers currently applied to coffee cups,” says the complaint.
In response, Kamali has scrubbed the word “star” from his signage, as well as other products, like stickers (in some cases simply using a black marker to cover up the word). However, the red star of Kamali’s logo remains.
Starbucks previously lost a case in federal court attempting to stop a New Hampshire roasting company from using the name “Charbucks.”
But before you go judging Starbucks for being the bad guy here, keep in mind that the corporate giant did offer Kamali £300 (about $372) as a goodwill payment, which Kamali said he refused on principle.
MUNCHIES has reached out to Starbucks and the coffee purveyor formerly known as Star Box for comment, and we will update the story if we hear back.
