Shanghai coffee shop finally changes name after long Starbucks dispute

A Shanghai coffee shop that was found to be infringing on the trademark of the U.S.-based Starbucks coffeehouse chain has finally changed its name after a four-year legal battle.

Staff at the newly-titled "Fangyun" cafe on the Nanjing Road refused to comment on the outcome on Friday, despite the fact that it is still listed in directory enquiries as "Xingbake", the Chinese term for Starbucks.

A statement from the Shanghai No. 2 Intermediate People's Court said, "It is the first case in Shanghai in which a company was forced to change its name because of a trademark infringement."

The court had also ordered Fangyun to make a public apology and pay 500,000 yuan (62,500 US dollars) in damages.

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