Bao Xun'an, a descendant of Bao Gong, said: "It is inappropriate to put Bao Gong's portrait on the cup. They don't understand Bao Gong's culture. Even if the cup is named 'Bao Gong Cup', I don't know the three words." I'm so willing. "As a well-known international company, Starbucks has strong economic strength and influence, so it should cherish its brand image. Bao Xunan also said: "We hope Starbucks will contact us proactively. We will give them a certain amount of time." Bao Zengchun, legal advisor of the Bao Gong Spiritual Inheritance Research Association, said that Bao Gong's image and name have been registered, and Starbucks should respect history and not seek novelties. "The image of Mr. Bao on Starbucks' 'Bao Gong Cup' is a complete imitation of our image of Mr. Bao. The clothes and posture are very close, only the face is different. They are skirting the line. If we have to resort to legal action, we will take action against the trademark We will sue for infringement, and hurting the feelings of Bao Gong's descendants will also be used as the basis for our prosecution." Bao Xun'an also revealed that in 2009, there was an incident where someone wanted to register Bao Gong brand condoms. At that time, a young man from Hefei had a sudden idea and posted on the Internet that he wanted to register the "Bao Gong" trademark for condoms. As soon as the post came out, they protested together with a large number of netizens, accusing his behavior of insulting Mr. Bao and damaging his image of integrity and fairness. In the end, the young man became the target of public criticism and his girlfriend broke up with him.
Bao Xun'an finally said that Bao Gong's trademark has not been used so far. They hope that Bao Gong's image can be used on products that can inherit and continue Bao Gong's culture, be accepted by the masses, and bring benefits to the masses. Putting Bao Gong's trademark on nondescript things is a kind of blasphemy. "We will never betray our ancestors to make money." The staff of Hefei Starbucks said they would report it to the head office, but so far they have not received a reply from Starbucks.
“The blind fans are not after the Bao Gong cup, but after the Starbucks brand and fashion. When they buy the cup, they don’t realize that they are helping Starbucks ruin Chinese culture, and they don’t realize that there are differences in product design. There is no problem, there is no sense of authenticity, there is no respect for history." Bao Xun'an said that he felt very sorry for this. "Some of our departments have not done enough to promote Bao Gong's culture. If they fail to protect themselves, similar things will happen."
At the same time, Bao Xun'an said that he hopes to mobilize everyone's strength to resist together. This behavior from Starbucks. "This approach by Starbucks is an act of eroding Chinese culture." Lawyer Cheng Yongqing put forward his own views: First of all, the protection of portraits and reputations of historical celebrities is still blank in our country's laws. There are relevant judicial interpretations that stipulate that after the death of a natural person, his or her name, portrait, reputation and honor rights are infringed, and his or her close relatives may sue the court for compensation for mental damages. But in this case, Bao Gong's descendants are not close relatives of Bao Gong according to law, so they have no right to take legal action because Bao Gong's portrait or reputation rights have been infringed.
At the same time, lawyer Cheng Yongqing said that if Mr. Bao’s portrait has been applied for as a registered trademark by his descendants, others may not infringe the trademark exclusive rights of his descendants. If infringement occurs, the rights holder can file a lawsuit according to law.
A photo of the trademark registration certificate provided by the Hefei Bao Gong Spiritual Inheritance Research Association. The person in charge said that only after clarifying the scope of use of the registered trademark by Bao Gong's descendants can we judge whether Starbucks' behavior constitutes trademark infringement.
The Anhui Provincial Trademark Office stated that the approved services stated in the three trademark registration certificates of Bao Gong’s descendants did not include the production and sale of “Bao Gong Cups”. One of the registered trademarks of Bao's Bulk is for renting glassware, not providing glassware, which is different from the services provided by Starbucks. The manufacture and sale of glass cups is not a registered and approved service item of the association, so the sale of glasses with Bao Gong's image cannot be restricted. In addition, the trademark registered by the association is not named after "Bao Gong" and cannot restrict other companies from using the title Bao Gong. And a Zhejiang company has already registered the word Bao Gong and Bao Gong's avatar as a trademark for non-insulated cups.