So Bold! Illegally Operating 'Starbucks'

Bogus Starbucks in Baghdad Keeps Pouring Despite Legal Threats

According to a recent ABC News report, a "Starbucks" coffee shop in Baghdad, the capital of Iraq, is still doing brisk business despite facing legal action. The shop uses genuine Starbucks cups and serves genuine Starbucks coffee. From the signage outside to the napkins inside, everything bears the mermaid logo of the multinational chain, making for an uncanny imitation.

In reality, though, this is an elaborately constructed fake—no operating authorization from Starbucks headquarters was ever obtained. All of the Starbucks merchandise in the shop is imported from neighboring countries. Such flagrant infringement of the trademark of a billion-dollar coffee company has pushed Starbucks to file a lawsuit in an effort to shut the operation down.

The Associated Press interviewed three Iraqi legal professionals involved in the case, who said Starbucks had retained company lawyers and filed suit as early as early 2020 to close the unlicensed store. The case was later suspended, however, after the shop's owner allegedly threatened the lawyers hired by Starbucks headquarters. The owner, Amin Makhsusi, reportedly told the lawyers to tread carefully, since he maintains friendly ties with militias and influential political figures, including armed factions.

When interviewed again in September, though, Makhsusi denied ever threatening the lawyers. He insisted he is simply a businessman, and that his connections with powerful political figures are a necessary safeguard against problems in Iraq's business environment—especially given how unstable conditions for commerce in the country currently are.

Makhsusi did attempt to do things by the book at first: he applied for a license through Starbucks' official Middle Eastern distributor and was turned down. He then tried reaching company officials through his contacts in the United States, which also came to nothing.

Ultimately, he decided to open anyway and accept whatever followed. Makhsusi describes the launch of his "Starbucks" branch as a victory over adversity, claiming that his mermaid-logo cups, stir sticks, napkins, and other Starbucks merchandise were all sourced through his connections in Turkey and Europe. The coffee itself, he says, is authentic Starbucks coffee, no different from what official stores serve.

He has already sat down once with the lawyers retained by Starbucks in an attempt to reach some kind of understanding with the chain, but so far no resolution has been found.

For Starbucks, the bogus Baghdad outlet is just one visible example of the serious infringement and piracy problems plaguing the region. Iraq has become a hub for trademark violations and counterfeiting, with everything from retail and online streaming to coffee products being knocked off. Beyond lax regulatory enforcement, the sheer audacity of intellectual property infringers there owes much to protection from powerful groups.

According to companies affected by piracy and U.S. officials familiar with related cases, counterfeiting not only tarnishes the reputations of well-known brands and inflicts enormous losses on businesses—it can even put lives at risk.

Responding to the Associated Press's request for comment, a Starbucks spokesperson said: "The store in Baghdad is not operated by Starbucks or authorized business partners. We are determining our next course of action. Starbucks has invested significantly in developing our brand and intellectual property, and we have an obligation to protect our intellectual property from infringement and maintain our exclusive rights to it."

Image source: Internet

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Instead of chasing counterfeit merchandise, why not enjoy the real thing brewed at home? Here are FrontStreet Coffee's go-to entry-level specialty beans:

Ethiopia — FrontStreet Natural Hua Kui and FrontStreet Washed Guodingding Cooperative. Ethiopia is Africa's largest coffee-producing country and the widely recognized birthplace of coffee, with the Yirgacheffe and Sidamo regions the most celebrated. Guodingding, a classic Yirgacheffe washed lot, carries jasmine florals, lemony acidity, and berry notes; the traditional natural-process Hua Kui from Sidamo leans into tropical fruit and fermentation aromas, with flavors of berries, florals, jackfruit, melon, and honey.

Brazil — FrontStreet Cerrado Red Bourbon and FrontStreet Queen Estate. Brazil is the world's No. 1 coffee producer, and its sun-exposed growing conditions ripen cherries quickly, giving soft bean density, gentle acidity, and excellent sweetness. The Cerrado daily-drinker lot delivers classic cream, peanut, and cocoa notes at a friendly price, while the higher-grown, rare Yellow Bourbon at Queen Estate adds sugarcane sweetness to Brazil's signature compound nut aromas—butter, melon seeds, macadamia, almond—yielding a thick, silky cup black or with milk.

Indonesia — FrontStreet Lintong Mandheling and FrontStreet PWN Golden Mandheling. Mandheling's one-of-a-kind character comes from the traditional wet-hulled (giling basah) process, developed to suit Sumatra's rainy climate and speed up drying. The result is a body even richer and smoother than Blue Mountain, with herbal and spice notes—perfect for those who dislike acidity. Step up to PWN Golden Mandheling, hand-selected three times plus once by machine for the lowest defect rate, and you get an even cleaner, smoother cup with clearer woody notes and caramel.