I think Starbucks just needs to bite the bullet on this one, but hey– that’s just me.

Struck By Starbucks

Ruth David, Faces In The News - 03.15.07, 8:25 PM ET

MUMBAI - Apart from alliteration, what’s the similarity between Starbucks and Starstruck?

A lot, according to the U.S. coffee chain, which is trying to prevent Indian beauty products queen Shahnaz Husain from using the name Starstruck for her planned chain of coffee and cosmetics shops.

Starbucks is concerned because it plans to open stores in either Mumbai or New Delhi by the end of 2007 in a to-be announced partnership.

Shahnaz says her chain, which will sell coffee and chocolate-based cosmetics, will have nothing to do with Starbucks.

“I applied for a patent for Starstruck in 2002. The cosmetic range has been under research and development for the last six years,” Shahnaz told Forbes.com. Her application hasn’t yet been approved, but she says she’s seen no reason why it won’t.

Shahnaz says Starstruck began as a coffee shop that she created in her sprawling residence in New Delhi to entertain guests. She decorated it with huge posters of American stars Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley because they were the easiest to buy.

[Starstruck] has around 600 franchises worldwide and is independently estimated to be worth approximately $250 million. Her products are exported to 135 countries, including the U.S. and U.K.

Starbucks, which has over 13,000 stores in 38 countries, is keen on expanding in large, growing consumer markets like India and China.

Source: Forbes.com - Magazine Article
(Also see: “Banning Starbucks From The Forbidden Cit