In Starbucks Corporation v. Sardarbuksh Coffee & Co.
& Ors., CS (COMM) 1007/2018, on August 1, 2018, the High
Court of Delhi granted interim relief in favor of Starbucks,
directing the defendants to use the name
"Sardarji-Bakhsh" for their 20 new, upcoming outlets
until the final hearing of the suit on September 27, 2018.
Following the hearing, it was agreed that the defendant would
change the name of all of its outlets to "Sardarji-Bakhsh
Coffee & Co."
The plaintiff registered the word mark STARBUCKS and the logo
depicting a "crowned maiden with long hair" in India in
2001. The defendants commenced their business in 2015 naming their
venture "Sardarbuksh Coffee &
Co"—"Sardar" the Hindi word meaning
"Commander" and "Buksh" the Hindi word meaning
"Pardon." In May, 2018, the defendants incorporated a
private limited company with the name "Sardar Buksh Private
Limited" and have been carrying on operations under that name
since that date. The goods and services
