It has been reported that 50R Group, a company from Thailand is suing Luckin Coffee for 10 billion THB (2.86 million USD) compensation. This comes less than a month after losing its trademark infringement lawsuit against the Thai company.
50R Group operates a chain of coffee shops also named Luckin Coffee, with a log that is a mirror image of the Chinese version. Luckin Coffee China sued 50R Group for trademark infringement in 2022 and won the case, only to lose on 1 December after 50R Group appealed against the ruling in March this year. The Thai company legally registered the trademark in the Southeast Asia country in 2020.
According to reports, the grounds for the current lawsuit are that 50R Group accuses the Chinese company of forcing it to cease using the trademark before the final verdict, forcibly seizing its property, as well as the legal fees the previous lawsuit and appeal cost the Thai version. A Thai court is reported to have accepted the filing.
Luckin China, on the other hand, responded on Weibo, China’s Twitter-like platform that the story is “yet to be verified”. It also accompanies the post with “I don’t understand but I’m very shocked” in Thai. The quote is from an Ang Lee interview and has now become a meme to express perplexity.
The topic “Thai Luckin sues Chinese Luckin for 10 billion THB of compensation” (#泰国瑞幸向中国瑞幸索赔100亿泰铢#) gained 370 million views on Weibo, ranking number 2 on the Hot Search list. The Chinese netizens are watching the development with deep interest, not only because of the popularity of the coffee chain but also the surprising nature of the lawsuit.
