Sauce-Flavor Latte Copies: Where Does Trademark Risk Start?

After Luckin Coffee and Moutai launched their sauce-flavored latte, supermarkets and online platforms filled with solid beverage products using near-identical names and packaging: a red background with blue-and-white diagonal stripes. One cup retails for about 4.8 yuan. Lawyers say using a similar mark on similar goods without permission, where confusion is likely, can infringe exclusive trademark rights.

Some manufacturers argue the sauce-flavored latte category cannot be registered and that color schemes fall outside copyright protection. The copycat drinks contain no alcohol, so their composition differs from the co-branded original despite the similar look. The dispute centers on how far a trend name and its packaging can be borrowed and where consumer confusion tips the question from imitation into infringement.

After Luckin Coffee and Moutai's co-branded sauce-flavored latte went viral, the market quickly saw the emergence of numerous solid beverage products with highly similar packaging styles. These products not only have similar names, but their outer packaging—featuring a red background with blue-and-white diagonal stripes—is almost a direct copy. Some lawyers point out that using a similar trademark on identical or similar goods without the trademark registrant's permission, where it is likely to cause confusion, constitutes infringement of exclusive trademark rights. However, some manufacturers claim that the sauce-flavored latte category cannot be registered and that color schemes are not protected by copyright, sparking discussion about the boundary between imitation and infringement.

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The sauce-flavored latte once became a phenomenon-level buzzword, not only pushing the popularity of both co-branding parties to new heights, but related keywords also trended on social media one after another. Just when the public thought this wave of attention was about to fade, a milk tea solid beverage with extremely similar outer packaging quietly appeared in offline supermarkets, making this topic go viral once again.

According to Shangyou News, recently supermarkets and online shopping platforms have seen a surge of milk tea solid beverages marketed with sauce-flavored latte as a selling point, with names close to Luckin's sauce-flavored latte and packaging designs that are strikingly similar.

Searching on popular e-commerce platforms, one can see that multiple sauce-flavored latte products have reached sales of several hundred units.

A beverage called Kuqi Sauce-Flavored Latte Original Coffee ranks high, stocked in many supermarkets, with a retail price of 4.8 yuan per cup. Its cup packaging style is similar to Luckin's sauce-flavored latte, and slogans such as "Fine liquor plus coffee, I only choose it" and "Sauce-Flavored Latte" closely mirror Luckin's. Some netizens joked that Luckin, Moutai, and Gucci were all left speechless…

Another top-ranking product, Muzicha Sauce-Flavored Latte Instant Coffee Beverage, has packaging that is also highly similar to Luckin's co-branded version. When a reporter asked what "sauce flavor" is, customer service replied that the beverage contains 0 alcohol, the sauce flavor comes from a baijiu-flavored beverage, and "sauce-flavored latte" is merely the drink's name.

To learn more, Shangyou News reporters contacted the manufacturer of the aforementioned solid beverage. A staff member stated that this sauce-flavored latte beverage was launched in September, and its packaging is indeed similar to Luckin's sauce-flavored latte, but it does not constitute infringement because the stripes are different. In terms of taste, the beverage is similar to Luckin's sauce-flavored latte, with coffee and milk as the main ingredients, and the sauce flavor achieved through fermented glutinous rice. As for the cost, the other party did not disclose more.

In fact, since Luckin and Moutai's co-branding and the sauce-flavored latte went viral across the internet, various brands have been copying the formula. The composition of a bright red background with blue-and-white diagonal stripes has been applied to all kinds of products, covering multiple categories including milk tea, fruit, snacks, toys, clothing, and household goods. So, do these products highly similar to the sauce-flavored latte constitute infringement?

Regarding this trend of imitation, Pan Xingwang, a partner lawyer at Chongqing Kunyuan Hengtai Law Firm, stated that according to trademark law, using a trademark identical or similar to a registered trademark on identical or similar goods without the trademark registrant's permission, where it is likely to cause confusion, constitutes infringement of exclusive trademark rights.

The product name and appearance of the sauce-flavored latte beverages sold online are similar to Luckin's, making it easy for consumers to be confused. To determine whether infringement occurs, one must look at the product's shape, text, and patterns, as well as whether they have been registered as trademarks. If registered, arbitrary use by others constitutes infringement. As for who holds the rights to the co-branded product, it depends on whether the trademark registrant is Luckin or Moutai.

Currently, multiple classification trademarks for sauce-flavored latte are in the process of registration applications, including categories such as alcohol, instant food, beer and beverages, and leather goods, but no applications by Luckin or Moutai for this trademark have been found.

In this regard, according to Jiupai News, many manufacturers stated that the sauce-flavored latte category cannot be registered, that color schemes have no corresponding copyright regulations in China, and that slogans were registered earlier than Luckin's. Based on these claims, these merchants believe their products do not infringe Luckin's trademark rights or copyright, and therefore there is no legal risk.

However, some lawyers have clearly pointed out that the protection of trademark rights and copyright does not rely solely on whether registration has been obtained. Trademark rights protection is based on the use and reputation of the trademark. If the packaging design and advertising slogans of a sauce-flavored latte are similar to Luckin Coffee's trademarks and copyright, and may cause consumer confusion and misunderstanding, then Luckin may still be able to claim infringement.

Image source: Internet

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