Fighting a legal battle against a global corporate giant can make a man sad.
Perhaps that’s why Damrong Maslae, the 43-year-old Bangkok coffee cart vendor at the center Starbung-gate controversy, recently re-named his business Bung’s Tears?
A photo of the new name and sign has gone up on Pantip and generated much discussion. While many laugh it off and admire his guts to fight a global brand like Starbucks, some netizens disagree with his pointless battle.
Many comments in Pantip suggested the stubborn barista is guilty of copyright infringement and seeking attention from the public, while some argue the whole story is a literally priceless and effective marketing strategy for his coffee cart.
Damrong changed the original Starbung logo to Stylebung only a few days before a trial on Nov. 4 and managed to avoid arrest for some of the charges. The court summoned Damrong and his brother for reconciliation with Starbucks on Nov. 18, but surprisingly, there hasn’t been a report of what happened.
But the Starbucks lawsuits for violating Articles 109 and 110 of the Thai Trademark Act B.E.2534, which would require the coffee stall to pay damages of THB300,000 with 7.5 percent are still in play.
The case is set to go on court on Feb. 10, 2014.
