What the Baghdad Counterfeit Starbucks Case Says About Coffee Knowledge

A café in Baghdad, Iraq, openly uses the Starbucks mermaid logo on its signage, cups, napkins, and coffee, despite having no authorization from Starbucks headquarters. Starbucks filed a lawsuit as early as 2020 seeking to close the store. The case was suspended after the store's owner, Amin Makhsusi, was suspected of threatening the lawyer appointed by Starbucks headquarters.

Makhsusi had previously applied for official permission, was refused, and opened anyway, claiming ties to local powerful figures. The standoff reflects Iraq's broader trademark piracy problem, where offenders often act with impunity because they are sheltered by militia groups. For readers following coffee knowledge, the case shows how weak enforcement can allow counterfeit cafés to trade on a global brand.

In Baghdad, the capital of Iraq, a café that uses authentic Starbucks cups, napkins, and coffee remains open as usual despite facing legal action. This unauthorized store bears the Starbucks mermaid logo from its signage to its interior details, enough to pass for the real thing. The owner, Amin Makhsusi, tried to apply for official permission but was refused, and ultimately decided to open on his own, claiming connections with local powerful figures. Starbucks is trying to stop this infringement through a lawsuit, but the case was suspended due to alleged threats. This incident reflects Iraq's serious trademark piracy problem, where offenders often act with impunity because they are sheltered by powerful groups.

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Recently, ABC News reported from abroad that a "Starbucks" café in Baghdad, the capital of Iraq, still opens its doors to customers as usual even in the face of legal threats. From the outside, the store's signage, cups, napkins, and everything else all bear the iconic mermaid logo of the multinational chain brand, and the coffee it sells is also claimed to be authentic Starbucks products, making it almost impossible to tell real from fake.

In reality, however, this is nothing but a carefully disguised counterfeit store—it has not obtained operating authorization from Starbucks headquarters, and all Starbucks products in the store are imported from neighboring countries. In such open infringement of the trademark rights of this multibillion-dollar coffee company, Starbucks has filed a lawsuit in an attempt to stop the infringement.

It is understood that the Associated Press interviewed three Iraqi legal professionals connected to the case. They revealed that as early as early 2020, Starbucks hired lawyers to file a lawsuit demanding the closure of this unlicensed store. However, because the owner of the counterfeit store was suspected of threatening the lawyer appointed by Starbucks headquarters, the case was subsequently suspended. The owner of the counterfeit store, Amin Makhsusi, had told the lawyer to act carefully and claimed that he maintained friendly relations with militia groups and powerful political figures, including armed factions.

But when Makhsusi was interviewed again in September, he denied having threatened the lawyer, saying he was just a businessman, and that he had dealings with powerful political figures because doing business in Iraq required these relationships to avoid trouble, especially given that the current situation in Iraq is not stable for commercial activities.

Makhsusi had tried to apply for a license through legal channels to Starbucks' official Middle East agent, but was rejected. After that, he also tried to communicate with company officials through contacts in the United States, but this likewise failed.

In the end, he still decided to open anyway and said he would bear the consequences himself. Makhsusi described his decision to open a "Starbucks" branch as a victory over adversity, and said that whether it was mermaid-logo cups, stirrers, napkins, or other Starbucks products, they were all obtained from Turkey and Europe through his connections, and the coffee was also authentic Starbucks coffee, no different from genuine stores.

Makhsusi said he had held a meeting with the lawyer hired by Starbucks to try to reach an understanding with the coffee chain company, but so far no solution has been reached.

Starbucks believes that the counterfeit Starbucks in Baghdad is merely a microcosm of the local serious infringement and piracy problem. Iraq has become a center of trademark infringement and piracy, with theft occurring in everything from retail and online video streaming to coffee output. In addition to its own weak supervision, the reason offenders who infringe intellectual property rights can act so boldly is largely because they enjoy the protection of powerful groups.

According to companies affected by piracy and U.S. officials familiar with related cases, piracy not only damages the goodwill of well-known brands and causes huge losses to enterprises, but can even endanger lives.

Now, in response to the Associated Press' request for comment, a Starbucks spokesperson said: "The store in Baghdad is not operated by Starbucks or an authorized business partner. We are deciding on our next steps toward it. Starbucks has invested heavily in developing its brand and intellectual property. We have an obligation to protect our intellectual property from infringement and reserve exclusive rights to it."

Image source: Internet

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.