Starbucks Applies to Register and Safeguard Trademarks in Russia

The US multinational coffeehouse chain Starbucks, which withdrew from Russia following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, has submitted applications to register several trademarks through Russia’s intellectual property service, Rospatent.

The Seattle-based company began to operate in Russia in 2007 but suspended work and deliveries in Russia on March 10, 2022, just days after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine before completely exiting the Russian market in May.

The Vedomosti business news site reports that Starbucks is now seeking to register eight of its brands, including Starbucks, Starbucks coffee, Frappuccino, trademarks relating to the preparation of its drinks and food, the selling of instant coffee, and its loyalty program.

Business experts have been speculating whether the move could signal Starbucks’ intention to return to the Russian market, but Vedomosti sees it as a “preemptive measure” to secure its brand as many of its patent protections are due to expire next year.

Starbucks’ Russian operations were taken over by Russian rapper Timati, Timur Yunusov, and business entrepreneur Anton Pinskiy. They purchased all the company’s Russian assets in the summer of 2022 and rebranded the business as “Stars Coffee” with the slogan: “Bucks is gone, stars stay.”

Pinskiy and Yunusov took on the rental agreements for all 130 Starbucks coffee shops in Russia and the contracts of its more than 2,000 employees. It rebranded the business by replacing the mermaid in the corporate logo with a girl wearing the traditional Russian ‘kokoshnik’ headdress.

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In 2022 and 2023, Pinskiy’s applications to register new brand names as “Stars Pinskiy Coffee” and “Stars Kanokov Coffee” were rejected by Rospatent as the new trademarks’ similarity to the original Starbucks brands could result in “customer confusion.” 

In April this year, the restaurateurs filed a suit seeking the early termination of the Starbucks Corporation trademark, which will likely be considered alongside Starbucks’ current petition.