Luckin Wins 95 Million Baht in Thailand — 6 Things Your Export Brand Must Do Now

Luckin Coffee won in Thailand. Total compensation exceeds 95 million baht (roughly RMB 20 million, or about USD 3 million) — the highest compensation ever recorded in a Thai IP case. But if you only see the "win," you're missing the more painful half of the story: the lawsuit dragged on for a full 5 years, and in the middle Luckin actually lost a round, then faced a counterclaim of 10 billion baht (about RMB 2 billion).

The victory is real. So is the price. For Chinese brands preparing to go overseas, the real value of the Luckin case is not that "the bad guys got punished" — it's that it lays out, item by item, the true cost of delayed trademark strategy.

The author, He Zigang, is an IP lawyer with 20 years of practice, operating Aipunajie·Mili·Naje as an OPC + AI digital-employee organization, specializing in overseas IP and trademark filing strategy.

First, Understand the Case: 5 Years of Back-and-Forth, Nearly Counter-Sued for 2 Billion

The timeline isn't long, but every step is worth remembering:

• End of 2018: Thailand's Royal 50R Group pre-registered "LUCKIN COFFEE" and the deer-head logo — at a time when Luckin had not yet formally gone overseas
• 2020: 50R's registration succeeded; relying on "first-to-file," it opened copycat stores
• 2022: Chinese tourists discovered "Thai Luckin" in Bangkok: same blue-and-white colors, nearly identical deer-head logo — except the deer's head was flipped and a line of Thai text was added
• 2023: Luckin lost on appeal — for a harsh reason: the trademark was held by an affiliate company, and the license agreement had not granted Luckin standing to enforce the mark overseas
• End of 2023: 50R countersued for 10 billion baht; Luckin's official reply: "We don't quite understand, but we are deeply shocked"
• July 2026: final victory: permanent sales ban + one-time compensation of 10 million baht + ongoing daily compensation of 100,000 baht from the date of filing

One sentence summary: Trademark rights are territorial. There is no mutual trademark recognition agreement between China and Thailand. Whoever registers first has the upper hand. Luckin didn't lose because its brand wasn't big enough — it lost because "the brand went global, but the trademark didn't follow."

The Squatter's 5 Standard Moves, Laid Bare

50R Group's operations expose the standard playbook of the industrialized trademark-squatting chain. What's more alarming: public databases show it also pre-registered famous marks including Mixue Ice Cream & Tea, Wanglaoji, Chanel, JD Super, Chow Sang Sang, Chow Tai Fook, TikTok, Beike, and Nongfu Spring — Chinese and foreign alike. This is not targeted at Luckin alone; it is industrialized.

Broken down, there are just 5 moves:

1. Timing arbitrage: file before you formally enter the market — "the brand hasn't moved yet, but the mark is already taken"

2. Modified copying: copy the word mark outright, tweak the device slightly (flip the deer's head) to dodge direct infringement claims

3. 7-class matrix: covering Classes 11, 21, 29, 30, 32, 35, 43 — core plus related classes, a full blockade

4. Batch squatting: register multiple Chinese and foreign brands at once, diluting the cost of fighting any single one

5. Targeting core classes: focusing on your main classes and classes you may extend into later

Three self-check questions (ask yourself right now): Have you searched your mark in the countries you plan to enter? Are both core and related classes registered? Is anyone watching you?

Five Southeast Asian Countries: First-to-File Is the Mainstream, But the Rhythm Differs

For most Chinese brands, Southeast Asia is the first stop overseas — tea and coffee brands alone now have more than 2,500 stores across the region. Yet most follow a "open stores first, add trademarks later" pattern; some don't even start registration until a year or two after entering the market.

One table to see the differences across five countries:

Remember a harsh reality: the historical stock of Chinese brands squatted overseas is 80+ marks in Indonesia, nearly 100 in Japan, and nearly 200 in Australia. Behind every one of those numbers is a company paying tuition for being "one step late."

6 Things You Must Do Before Going Overseas

"The battle for an overseas trademark is not won in the courtroom — it is won in the six months before you go abroad. Register early, cover everything, keep evidence. Do these three things right, and squatters will have nowhere to strike." — He Zigang | IP Attorney | Aipunajie·Mili·Naje (20 years of practice, AI-native hybrid-organization practitioner)

1. Rank your target countries — decide "where you'll be in 3 years" first

Don't wait until the market is settled to backfill trademarks. Rank by market priority: decide which markets you'll enter in the next 3 years, then work backward to each market's filing start date (start 1.5–2 years ahead, because registration can take up to 36 months).

2. Trademark search — spend a little to find out a lot

Official searches in target countries typically cover: granted registrations + pending applications + well-known marks at home and abroad. A search costs a few hundred yuan; fighting a squatting dispute costs millions. Anyone can do that math.

3. Class matrix — core + related + defensive

Luckin had 7 classes squatted. That is the lesson. Core classes (your main business) + related classes (future extensions) + defensive classes (anti-ambush): all three rings must be filed.

4. Filing route — Madrid vs. single-country vs. hybrid

• Madrid: lower cost, broad coverage, but depends on a home basic registration; averages 13 designated countries
• Single-country: flexible, right for urgent first-to-file jurisdictions (e.g., Thailand, Vietnam)
• Hybrid: Madrid as the base + single-country filings for priority markets (Naje's default recommendation)

5. Global monitoring — the opposition window is a golden opportunity

In most countries the publication/opposition window is 30–90 days — the cheapest interception point. Miss the opposition window and enforcement costs multiply. In 2025, Chinese applicants filed 6,718 Madrid applications, growing ~28% annually over the past decade and surpassing the US as world No. 1 since 2020 — Chinese brands are waking up, and the squatting chain is upgrading too. If you don't monitor, someone will monitor for you.

6. Keep evidence of use — ammunition against non-use cancellation and squatting

Sales contracts, invoices, advertising, customs declarations, e-commerce records — these are the core evidence for defending against "non-use cancellation" and bad-faith squatting. Luckin's 2024 comeback was built on submitting massive evidence including global store data and multi-country registration records.

January 1, 2027: You Get Three New Weapons

The new Trademark Law was passed in June 2026 and takes effect January 1, 2027, with three provisions directly benefiting export brands:

1. Well-known mark domestic confirmation letter: when Chinese authorities issue a confirmation letter, you gain a systematic evidence tool for overseas opposition, invalidation, and litigation

2. Forced transfer mechanism: if an agent or representative squats your mark, you can recover the mark directly through invalidation proceedings

3. 2-month opposition period + punitive damages: room for bad-faith opposition shrinks; malicious infringement is subject to up to 5x damages, with statutory damages capped at RMB 5 million

Almost no SME knows about these three yet.

The real takeaway of the Luckin case is not "how much was won," but "when your trademark finally lands, will your market still be blue ocean?" Wangzhihe took 3 years, Chacha took 7, Luckin took 5 — the cost of late filing is never the fine; it is time.

Three things you can do today:

1. List the markets your brand will enter in the next 3 years, and check trademark status in those countries now

2. Complete your class matrix against core + related + defensive categories

3. Archive your existing sales contracts, ads, and customs declarations — they are your future ammunition

In the next article, we'll turn "Southeast Asia trademark registration" into a finer decision map, telling you "what to do first" in each country.

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Email: [email protected] | WeChat: najieip

He Zigang | IP Attorney | Beijing Naje IP

This article represents the author's personal views only and does not constitute legal advice. For case-specific analysis, please feel free to contact us.