Russian court to consider terminating Starbucks trademark rights

The new owners of the popular coffee chain in the country have rebranded the local franchise

The owners of the remains of the Starbucks chain in Russia have asked a court to terminate legal protection of the American company’s trademarks, a court document has revealed.

Entrepreneur Anton Pinsky, who purchased the US chain's Russian assets in partnership with rapper and businessman Timati (Timur Yunusov), filed a claim with the country's intellectual property rights court on April 12, according to a post on the information portal Digital Justice this week.

Starbucks, which had operated in Russia since 2007, pulled out of the country in 2022 due to Western sanctions linked to the Ukraine conflict.

Pinsky and Yunusov acquired the rental agreements for all 130 Starbucks coffee shops in Russia, as well as the employment contracts of its 2,000 workers. They successfully rebranded the Seattle-based company’s coffee shops in Russia as Stars Coffee.

The new owners also replaced the well-known mermaid logo with an image of a girl in a traditional Russian ‘kokoshnik’ headdress.

The current claim relates to seven trademarks, which include images and text elements registered at various times between 2003 and 2014. However, the expiry periods of exclusive rights to trademarks were extended and are valid, depending on the mark, up until 2033, the court filing said.

READ MORE: Russian ‘Starbucks’ gets new name and logo

According to the court document, the plaintiff has asked the court to terminate the protection of trademarks relating to two classes of services including restaurants, cafes, cafeterias, snack bars, and coffee shops due to their non-use.

In 2022 and 2023, Pinsky applied to register new brand names – Stars Pinskiy Coffee and Stars Kanokov Coffee. Currently, the declared designation of both trademarks is being examined, according to official documents.