Shanghai Coffee Company Gets New Name Following Court Decision

Shanghai Xingbake Cafe Company, a Shanghai-based coffee company which has an outlet on Shanghai's Nanjing Road, has officially changed its name after losing a lawsuit with Starbucks.

Shanghai Xingbake Cafe Company, which is now known as Shanghai Fangyun Cafe Company, was accused by the U.S coffee giant Starbucks of using its Chinese name and trademark sign to confuse customers.

Starbucks first sued Shanghai Xingbake for trademark infringement in October 2005. Though a court ruling on December 31 of that year ordered Shanghai Xingbake to use a different name, the latter refused to follow the judgment and continued to use the name until Starbucks filed an appeal on January 30 this year for court's execution.

Shanghai Xingbake says it thought it had not violated the right of plaintiff now that their name was also approved by the industrial and commercial department, but later it agreed to follow the court's order after being told about the consequences of not obeying it.