Image source: Visual China
When encountering a fake Luckin, the real Luckin has a hard time and can't say it.
According to Thai headlines, on the morning of the 19th, the Royal Thai 50R group (50R group) formally submitted a lawsuit to the court, asking the court to sentence China Luckin Coffee to compensate for economic losses of 10 billion baht, and the court has accepted the case.
At 13 o'clock on December 20, the official account of Luckin responded to the matter, saying that the situation has yet to be verified about the claim of 10 billion baht by Thailand's fake Luckin. It is worth mentioning that this response is followed by a Thai sentence: "ฉันอ่านไม่ออก แต่ฉันตกใจมาก!", which means "I can't read it, but I'm shocked!". The Blue Whale financial reporter asked Luckin Coffee's customer service about this matter, and Luckin Coffee's customer service replied that it had not received any relevant notice.
Seeing this farce of Li Ghost suing Li Kui, many netizens called it "Tai outrageous" and "Thai shameless".
It is worth mentioning that the previous trademark infringement case filed by China Luckin against Thailand Luckin also ended in defeat. On December 1, Thailand's Central Tribunal for Intellectual Property and International Trade announced the final judgment on the trial of China's Luckin Coffee Company's lawsuit against the Royal Thai 50R group (50R group) for trademark and copyright infringement - the judgment of China's Luckin Coffee Company was against the lawsuit and was immediately executed.
The battle between true and false Luckin
According to Thai headlines, Thailand 50R said in a filing with the court that it had legally registered the Luckin trademark with the Thai Ministry of Commerce in 2020, and everything was handled in accordance with Thai legal rules and procedures, and was allowed to use the trademark to operate a coffee shop business that sells beverages such as tea and coffee. However, China Luckin Coffee later filed a lawsuit against the Central Intellectual Property and International Trade Court, accusing 50R Group of maliciously registering its trademark, for which the lower court ruled against the defendant. However, the 50R Group considered the judgment unfair and submitted a rebuttal to the court, which won the case on December 1 this year.
The complaint also stated that as early as before the court made a final judgment, China Luckin had repeatedly forced the plaintiff to stop using the trademark, and repeatedly forcibly seized the property of the other party, causing it to suffer serious economic losses. 50R Group also spent a lot of money to fight the lawsuit, and asked the court to award a total of 10 billion baht (about 2 billion yuan) in compensation to China Luckin Coffee.
According to the Blue Whale financial reporter, Luckin Coffee sued the relevant infringing party in 2021. On November 24, 2022, the Thai court announced the first-instance judgment, ruling in favor of Luckin Coffee China, demanding the cancellation of the relevant trademark registration and ordering the two defendants to stop using the trademark. The defendant filed an appeal on March 24, 2023, and the trial reopened on November 30, 2023, ending with China Luckin losing the case.
Regarding the reversal of the two judgments, Manager Tian of the Legal Department of Wenhua Law Firm said that because there is no trademark cooperation agreement between China and Thailand, according to Article 63 of the Thai Trademark Law, if the Thai version of Luckin first registers the trademark with the Thai Trademark Office to use the trademark, then it has the right to engage in business in this field in Thailand, which is the reason why Luckin lost the lawsuit.
"If China's Luckin appeals to the Intermediate Court of Thailand to prove that it used the brand earlier and was more influential around the world, then the court may reconsider its previous decision. Mr. Tian suggested, "China Luckin may negotiate privately with the other party to obtain the ownership of the trademark through purchase." ”
But in fact, the grievances of "true and false Luckin" can be traced back to 2021. At the beginning of 2021, a netizen found the "Thailand Luckin" store while traveling in Thailand, and mistook it for an overseas store of Luckin Coffee, so he checked in and took a photo and posted it on social media. In August 2022, Luckin Coffee issued a statement saying: Thailand is fake! Luckin Coffee has not opened a store in Thailand. The Luckin store in Thailand is a counterfeit store. He also said that the "Look Left Deer" logo and the direct use of the name Luckin Coffee have caused serious damage to the Luckin brand, and the relevant departments of Luckin have adopted legal means to protect their rights.
In fact, Luckin Coffee has just launched its overseas plan this year, and the first stop is in Singapore, and it has not disclosed its overseas progress outside of Singapore.
Xu Yanxuan, a lawyer at Beijing Jingshi Law Firm, told the Times Weekly reporter that there is a great risk, and if Luckin does not register in the country (Thailand) or does not apply for registration through the Madrid Trademark Agreement, it may not be protected in the country where it is located. However, whether it necessarily constitutes infringement depends on the specific local laws and regulations.
Zhu Danpeng believes that the overseas market is huge, and a single Thai market will not have much impact on Luckin Coffee's overseas layout. Luckin's malicious registration in Thailand is actually a lesson for Chinese companies. Zhu Danpeng reminded that Chinese brands must further improve and consolidate the intellectual property system in the early stage of their birth. This has a very good top-level design blessing for future globalization and going to sea.
Enterprises go overseas, and trademarks are frequently preemptively registered
In fact, in the process of Chinese enterprises going overseas, the situation of "Li Kui meeting Li Ghost" is not an isolated case. There have been frequent incidents of well-known trademarks being preemptively registered overseas, such as Wang Zhihe, Goubuli, Lao Gan Ma and Qiaqia in Germany, Zhenjiang Balsamic Vinegar, Zhuye Qingjiu and Chayan Yuese in South Korea, and Tsingtao Beer in the United States.
The Thai 50R behind Thailand Luckin has also preemptively registered trademarks such as TikTok, Shell, Link, Chow Tai Fook, and Nongfu Spring.
How to protect trademarks in the process of going overseas has become an urgent problem to be solved. Industry insiders told the Blue Whale financial reporter that for chain brands that started in China, it is more difficult to protect trademarks in overseas markets. Each country's trademark system is independent. In addition, many countries have a first-to-file principle (with the exception of a few countries), and whoever files first will be protected. Due to the consideration of cost, some enterprises rarely deploy trademarks in advance, which leads to the malicious registration of trademarks, and ultimately causes serious consequences due to small losses.
Xu Yanxuan, a lawyer at Jingshi Law Firm, told the Times Weekly reporter that Chinese enterprises must do a good job in the overseas layout of trademarks in advance if they want to go global. Xu Yanxuan suggested that first of all, through the Madrid international application, the applicant can file an application for trademark registration in the country of origin in accordance with the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks, and the Madrid trademark registration application can cover multiple Madrid member states at one time, and the trademark protection registered in this way can be extended to other contracting states. Secondly, companies can also submit their registrations directly to other countries one by one.
Master Bao was more prescient in this regard. Recently, a number of netizens posted pictures on Xiaohongshu, saying that the newly opened Master Bao next to London's Chinatown had eaten the meat floss scallops that he had been dreaming of, but its taste was different from that in China. On December 10, Master Bao issued the "Statement on Overseas Infringing Stores". In an interview with Shenzhen Business Daily, the relevant person in charge of Master Bao said: "We have registered the trademark of Master Bao overseas before. The evidence of the infringement of the copycat version of 'Master Bao' in London, England is very clear. At present, the forensics has been basically completed. Master Bao will take up legal weapons to protect his rights and interests in a legal way and protect the interests of consumers. ”
"In overseas markets, trademark protection can help enterprises establish brand image, improve brand awareness and reputation, and promote the expansion of enterprises in overseas markets. Jiang Han, a senior researcher at Pangu Think Tank, believes that before entering overseas markets, enterprises should understand the trademark laws and regulations of each country and assess the potential risk of trademark infringement. Secondly, enterprises should register their trademarks in China and the target market as soon as possible to ensure the legitimate rights and interests of their brands and products in the local area.