On August 8th, 2011, Starbucks opened its first branch in Hefei, the capital of Anhui Province. Hefei is the 3rd city Starbucks entered in the central part of China. However three days after the soft opening, the much welcomed Starbucks faced legal action. The issue surrounded its signature city mug. Hefei’s City Mug is nicknamed “Bao Gong Mug”. Bao Zheng, also known as Bao Gong, was a prestigious judge in the Song Dynasty (960-1127), who was from Hefei. Starbucks used his portrait as the main image on its city mugs and tumblers. Recently, Bao Xun’an, the 36th-generation descendent of the famous judge, accused Starbucks of violating intellectual property rights.

Despite protests from Bao Xun’an, the 90RMB “Bao Gong Mug” has sold well thus far. People were lining up to purchase the mugs and several hundred were sold in the first few days. City mugs feature a city’s major landmarks and characteristics and are only sold in that particular city. Starbucks chose Judge Bao for the design because they thought he represented the spirit and integrity of the Hefei people. The mug is meant to pay respect and honor to the judge and resonate with local consumers.

Ironically, the intentions behind the mug are exactly what irritated the judge’s descendent. He believes that putting his ancestor’s image on a mug for commercial use shows disrespect and humiliation. He also thinks the Judge Bao painted on the mugs looks like a foreigner. Bao Xun’an holds the trademark of Judge Bao’s portrait, and claimed that the registration of the trademark was to protect Judege Bao’s image from inappropriate use. His concerns lie mainly in the commercial use of the portrait. He said, “Starbucks can make a handicraft article with Bao Gong’s portrait and gift it in exchange of member points. Otherwise, they can send a limited number of mugs out in openings or celebrations as gift. They should never sell them as products. If it were a handicraft, we would be willing to authorize them to use the registered portrait for free.” From the legal perspective, these charges might be disregarded. The Provincial Trademark Office declared that the certificates of Bao Xun’an’s trademark does not specify that people cannot sell Bao Gong mugs, and that the artwork Starbucks used is not identical to his registered graphic.

With already 450 cafes in China, Starbucks plans to expand vigorously, aiming at opening 1,500 new cafes by 2015. Starbucks has high brand awareness and a strong brand image in China; many people consider it a premium product. Starbucks also tries to integrate Chinese culture into their product base by producing special moon cakes and tea drinks. Although Starbucks’ efforts have been predominantly successful in China, brands still need to take extra caution when choosing cultural elements for commercial use.