Luckin Coffee, China's largest local coffee chain "Little Blue Cup", is rumored to be entering Taiwan, but the Little Blue Cup trademark has been embroiled in controversy. (File photo, Reuters)
[Reporter Lin Jinghua/Taipei Report] Whether Chinese chain coffee brand Luckin Coffee will enter the Taiwan market has attracted much attention. In addition to store openings, its trademark layout was also the first to be exposed. The Intellectual Property Bureau of the Ministry of Economic Affairs pointed out that Luckin, a Chinese company, has successively applied for Chinese, English and graphic trademarks in Taiwan since 2019, covering multiple categories such as coffee, glass, food retail and cafes. Some of the trademarks have been registered; however, trademarks such as "Little Blue Cup" and "Meteorite Latte" are still involved in disputes because they are similar to others' registered trademarks and may cause confusion, and the case is still under review.
The Wisdom Bureau stated that since 2019, Luckin has successively submitted trademark registration applications to Taiwan for Chinese, English and graphic trademarks such as "luckin Luckin", "LUCKIN TEA and pictures", "luckin coffee" and "design pictures". Judging from the trademark layout, Luckin spans multiple product and service categories, including paper products such as paper for business use in Category 16, glass cups and other containers in Category 21, milk in Category 29, coffee and related foods in Category 30, juice in Category 32, food retail and wholesale in Category 35, and catering services such as cafes in Category 43. Some trademarks have been registered.
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Luckin is known as the “Little Blue Cup” in China and has its star product “Meteorite Latte”. The Wisdom Bureau pointed out that three trademarks, including "Little Blue Cup" and "Meteorite Latte", were applied for use in categories such as Class 30 and Class 43. However, because they are similar to other people's registered trademarks, they may cause confusion and misunderstanding among consumers. The relevant dispute cases are still under review and there is no final result yet.
Luckin also launched a new wave of trademark applications in Taiwan last year, but withdrew them within the same year. The Wisdom Bureau stated that Luckin applied last year for trademarks such as "luckin coffee", "Luckin Coffee" and "design drawings", specifying categories 16, 21, 30 and 43. The scope includes paper and printed matter, glass cups and other containers, coffee and related food, as well as cafes and catering services, etc., almost all of which are directly related to Luckin's core coffee business, but subsequently withdrew the case on its own.
Less than a year later, Ruixing submitted the application again, but this time the application strategy changed. The Wisdom Bureau pointed out that Ruixing still applied for the same trademarks such as "luckin coffee", "Luckin Coffee" and "design drawings", but the designated categories were changed to Class 33, Class 36, Class 39 and Class 40, which respectively involve alcohol, financial and real estate services, transportation and logistics services, as well as materials processing, food processing and other services. The cases are still pending. The Wisdom Bureau stated that the current pending period for new trademark registration applications is about 6 months. Subsequent case reviews will be carried out in accordance with the law to confirm whether there are reasons for prohibiting registration, and then decide whether to approve or reject the application.
According to the analysis of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, companies coming to Taiwan to apply for trademarks not only protect their brands, but also mean "register first and get a seat first." One of the main purposes is to avoid having their trademarks registered first by others when entering the market in the future. However, obtaining registration of a trademark is not a once-and-for-all process. If it is not actually used for three consecutive years, it may be revoked by others. Although the trademark application itself cannot directly equate to the industry's definite entry into Taiwan, Luckin started its layout as early as 2019 and has continued to apply for trademarks in different categories in recent years. Now the trends after the trademark application have attracted special attention from the market.
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