Luckin Coffee wins Thai trademark infringement case

Luckin Coffee’s iconic deer logo | Photo credit: Andrew Wang

Luckin Coffee has won its trademark infringement case against Thailand’s Royal 50R Group and been awarded THB 46m ($1.3m) in damages and legal costs.

The dispute first arose in January 2022 – more than a year after Royal 50R began opening stores bearing a version of the Luckin logo, which it claimed had been legally registered with the Thai Ministry of Commerce. 

Luckin sued Royal 50R over copyright infringement but lost the case in December 2023. The following month, Royal 50R filed a lawsuit against Luckin, seeking THB 10bn ($290m) in compensation for economic losses incurred from the trademark dispute over a three-year period. 

The Central Intellectual Property and International Trade Court of Thailand has now ruled that Beijing-based Luckin had ‘prior and better’ rights to the trademark involved, according to a Luckin post on microblogging website weibo on 10 March 2025. 

Royal 50R has also been ordered to cease using Luckin’s brand name and logo.

Bangkok-based Tilleke & Gibbins, which represented Luckin in the latest case, said the ‘historic damages’ awarded to the coffee chain were among the highest ever awarded in a trademark infringement case in Thailand.  

Founded in 2017, Luckin is China’s largest coffee chain with more than 22,300 stores. The successful court case could pave the way for an official launch in Thailand as the coffee giant steadily scales its international presence.  

Luckin has opened 51 stores in Singapore since debuting in the city-state in March 2023 and launched in Hong Kong and Malaysia in January 2025. In October 2024, the coffee giant’s CEO Jinyi Guo confirmed plans for a US launch in the second half of the year and said the business was actively exploring other international markets.