Starbucks has been at odds with Alaska-based Mountains and Mermaids for several years. It partially won a previous case in which it claimed that the company's Siren's Brew coffee brand could confuse customers.
However, it now argues that the company continues to sell coffee under the fish-woman moniker and imagery.
The first hand-drawn Starbucks logo was designed in 1971. The brand design has evolved since then, but the emblem still features a siren,
which Starbucks believes will prevent competing firms from combining the fabled sea creature with caffeinated beverages.
The lawsuit dates back to 2019, when the United States Patent and register Office (USPTO) denied Starbucks' request to register the Siren's Blend name because Mountains and Mermaids had already trademarked Siren's Brew.
Starbucks was not pleased about this. It filed an opposition to Mountains and Mermaids' trademark,
claiming that simply the use of the word'siren' in relation to coffee infringed on its brand, let alone imagery of said siren drinking coffee.
Despite considerable stylistic differences (albeit not as obvious as the Russian Starbucks imitation), the Seattle coffee giant claimed that Mountains and Mermaids' pictures of sirens are a play on its own logo design.