Does Starbucks even have competition?
Starbucks has 600+ trademark applications filed but only 252 of them are still live. Assuming the only filed one class of goods. They paid on the low end $161,750 in filing fees alone for the applications notwithstanding how much a trademark package can cost. Thus, imagine if you had that much to spend just filing an application?
They have filed trademarks for every single facet of their business intellectual properties. They take proactive steps to brand and PROTECT THEMSELVES.
If you do your research, they are even focusing their efforts on a white cup with a green dot trademark which could put a lot of etsy resellers in issue.
The problem with making a coffee shop that can compete with this powerhouse is that very few businesses even have their business name trademarked let alone their product names. When I developed Trademark That Thursdays, it was because I noticed a lot of misinformation in the IP FIELD of business.
- Business Owners didn’t separate their bank accounts
- Business Owners operated businesses for years as a sole proprietor
- Business Owners built brands but didn’t trademark their brand name and it was stolen (i.e. Black Girl Magic)
- Business Owners used non-lawyers to form their business who did not know or understand the USPTO Principal Register to properly search the availability of their business name
- Business Owners were pulling contracts from Google without getting them reviewed by an attorney and customized for their business needs
- Business Owners were buying logos, photos, and videos, and other copyrightable content and not signing contracts to obtain their exclusive copyright rights.
So, heed my advice, if you doing any of these in the list above, you might need to enroll in my 4-Part Best Kept Secrets in Business Intake Consultation Course.
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