Chinese coffeehouse chain Luckin Coffee has won a trademark infringement case against Thailand’s Royal 50R Group.
The Central Intellectual Property and International Trade Court of Thailand ruled in favour of the Chinese coffee giant, awarding Bt46m ($1.3m) in damages and legal costs, as reported by Yicai Global, citing a statement from Luckin on Weibo.
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The court’s decision, which also revokes Royal 50R’s registered Luckin Coffee trademarks, includes a permanent injunction preventing the Thai company from using Luckin Coffee’s brand name in either English or Chinese, and banning the use of its deer-head logo.
The ruling comes after a relaunch of the case following an initial loss for Luckin Coffee in December 2023.
The trademark clash began in January 2022 when Luckin Coffee posted a video on social media saying that consumers had discovered outlets in Thailand mirroring the brand’s identity.
These stores allegedly featured similar logos, interior designs and even identical coffee cups and shopping bags. The only difference was a sideways flip of the brand’s deer-shaped logo.
In August of the same year, Luckin Coffee clarified that it had no official presence in Thailand and identified the stores in question as counterfeit.
Its legal team then initiated actions to safeguard its intellectual property rights.
Despite an initial setback in the courts, Luckin Coffee has succeeded with the support of Southeast Asian law firm Tilleke & Gibbins.
The damages awarded are high for a Thai trademark dispute, according to Tilleke & Gibbins.
