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[Apha Biz=(Chicago) Reporter Paul Lee] The Intellectual Property Trial and Appeal Board ruled that 'STARBUCKS' and 'StarBaps' are similar trademarks.
According to legal and industry sources on the 5th, the 19th division of the Intellectual Property Tribunal decided that 'StarBaps's trademark registration will be invalidated' in the trademark registration trial filed by Starbucks Corporation, a multinational company, against the domestic restaurant 'StarBaps'.
Starbucks Corporation claimed that the trademark "StarBaps," which Hong registered in November 2021, is similar to its pre-registered "Starbucks" trademark and that its name and appearance is the same and similar to the designated product (service), and that the trademark registration should be invalid.
It also pointed out, "The registered trademark is reminiscent of Starbucks, which is feared to misunderstand or confuse consumers or damage its reputation, and it is a brand that is organized into Starbucks' reputation and applied for dishonest purposes."
In this regard, the Korean Intellectual Property Tribunal judged, "If the two trademarks are feared to cause misunderstanding or confusion about the source of the product when compiling impressions, memories, and associations given to general consumers by appearances, titles, and ideas, the two trademarks should be considered similar to each other."
Starbucks Korea applied for trademark registration in Korea in September 1996 and completed trademark registration in December 1998. Since opening Starbucks Ewha Womans University branch in 1999, there are currently 1,850 direct stores ．
Alphabiz Reporter Paul Lee(hoondork1977@alphabiz.co.kr)
