Brand Infringement: Starbucks and Sambucks

Marketing ethics is a final level of an Integrated Marketing Communications, and it is defined as a value that controls the business practices in promoting products or services to consumers. Brand Infringement is an important part of an ethical behaviour for the business, and it occurs when a company creates a brand name or logo that are very similar to a popular brand, in order to gain popularity.

A coffee shop named Sambucks can be a great example of brand infringement. Starbucks is a very popular coffee shop all around the world, and when they discovered about Sambucks, Starbucks took an immediate action bysending the letter to Sambucks ordering to stop using the name. When the owner refused, they took the legal action, and the court ruled against Sambucks. The reasons were followed:

•  It might be confusing to Starbucks’ customers and potentially cause losses for Starbucks
•   Sambucks’ logo was somewhat similar to Starbucks’ logo

It is important for any businesses to understand the consequence of unethical matters and try to avoid them at all cost. Any businesses should not try to engage in this activity to generate more profit.

 

References:

Stossel, J. 2005. Starbucks vs. Sambucks. Retrieved from
http://abcnews.go.com/2020/GiveMeABreak/story?id=1390867

Ventre, L. 2016. Trademark Infringement. Retrieved from
http://www.lventre.com/tm_infring.html