Sattar Buksh, a Karachi-based café owner famous for his humorous menu items like the “Besharam Burger”, LOC Pizza, got into trademark branding dispute with Starbucks. The multinational claimed that the resemblance in logo and name could confuse customers, dilute its brand and potentially infringe on trademark laws. When you think Starbucks, the multinational, you picture the iconic green siren. In Karachi two Pakistani entrepreneurs Rizwan Ahmad and Adnan Yousuf, opened a café called Sattarbuksh,  (buksh, meaning servant). They think it is parody not piracy. Although at first glance their logo resembled like a cheeky twin of Starbucks, except instead of mermaid, it sported a moustached man. Starbuck who thought their logo was compromised was not amused and sent a legal notice. But instead of folding, Sattarbuksh fought back, tweaking its branding and arguing it was a satire. The Karachi café won a trademark battle against coffee giant Starbucks. The café, named Sattar Buksh, became known not only for its coffee but also its other delicacies and even for its cheeky branding-  a round green logo featuring a moustached man. Sattar Buksh was launched in 2013, the founders insisting their brand was intended as satire with Pakistani cultural roots, not as imitation. They pointed out Sattar Buksh is culturally meaningful name in Pakistan linked to centuries of history, and pointed out differences in logo elements, such as moustached figure, fonts and colour tones.  They later added disclaimers to clarify that their café had no connection to Starbucks. Starbucks argued Sattar Buksh broke trademark law, but the local café countered that parody.

The court eventually ruled in favour of Sattar Buksh, allowing it to continue operating. The decision as seen as David and Golai and a rare victory of local creativity over global giant.