How Karachi’s Sattar Baksh defeated the world-famous Starbucks

There is a lot of discussion about the Sattar Baksh cafe in Karachi, Pakistan. Recently, they defeated the world-famous Starbucks in the United States in a legal battle. This problem is caused by the similarity of the name and logo of Starbucks. This company in Karachi is known not only for coffee, but also for its different eye-catching branding.

Starbucks' logo shows the famous mermaid in the old green color, the name of the company and coffee are written in the outer circle, and there are two stars. On the other hand, Sattar Baksh's green logo shows a man with a mustache. And the name of the company and other different symbols are written in the outer circle.

Sattar Baksh created discussions and criticism on social media due to its name and design. People's curiosity was aroused. Gradually, their popularity increased. In the end, although the matter turned into a legal battle, the verdict was in their favor.

How Sattar Baksh Started
In 2013, entrepreneurs Rizwan Ahmed and Adnan Yusuf launched the cafe. From the beginning, its branding caught the eye, because the name and pronunciation are similar to Starbucks. However, from the beginning, they have been claiming that their brand is satirical, not intended to be copied. A meaningful name associated with centuries of tradition in Pakistani culture.

According to their explanation, the mustachioed character, different font and color tone are different from Starbucks. Later, they clearly announced that their cafe has no relation to Starbucks.

The food menu is also quite discussed, there are burgers, pizzas and even shisha. Some of the dishes have interesting features - 'Beshram Burger' without buns, 'LoC Pizza' with one side vegetarian and the other non-vegetarian, which is compared to the India-Pakistan border.

Starbucks' complaint
Starbucks alleged that Cafe Sattar Baksh was violating the trademark law due to the similarity in the name and logo. And Pakistan's trademark law also clearly mentions the issue of preventing imitation of well-known brands.

However, the owners of Cafe Sattar Baksh have always said that their brand is not an imitation but a satirical initiative and the result of creativity to highlight Pakistani culture.

Sattar Baksh further explained that the logos of both may look similar, but there are detailed differences between them.

Finally, after a long 12-year legal battle, the court ruled in favor of Sattar Baksh. As a result, they will be able to continue their operations. This ruling is being seen as a rare victory for local creativity against a global giant.