Protecting a Steaming Good Image

Name: The Coffee Club

Business: National franchise system

Industry: Hospitality

IP smart since: 1991

When founders Emmanuel Kokoris and Emmanuel Drivas opened their first The Coffee Club store in Brisbane, response was immediate, and several more stores followed in quick succession with the same mix of style, innovation and value for money which had preciously been missing in the market. Now, there are over 100 The Coffee Clubs outlets spanning from Cairns to Melbourne.

This story is in some ways typical of new business start-ups—a need is identified and the solution is found. What is unusual is that Kokoris recognised the significance of registering their trade mark quite early on in the business’s evolution.

”We knew we had something so different that needed as much protection as possible from imitation. We were also developing a brand, not only for the actual cafes, but for the range of products we saw resulting from the cafes popularity” says Kokoris. ”We met with a local trade mark attorney here in Brisbane, and got excellent advice on how to protect what we consider to be one of our most significant assets. Our registered trade mark protects our trade name and provides us with a consistent image to the marketplace. It’s all about consumer recognition,” says Kokoris.

The Coffee Club trade mark is registered with IP Australia across a variety of classes. Strategic registration in more than a dozen countries provides protection for what could conceivably be a global market.

Their brand is used extensively, from café signage, uniforms, bomber jackets, name tags, crockery, matches and serviettes, to the packaging for their special blend of coffee beans and ground coffee packs.

Along with registration and consistent usage of their trade mark, they have also been vigilant about following up on accidental, and sometimes intentional, infringement of their mark. The two are amazed by other operators who either blatantly thumb their noses at development of their own niche and image, as well as those who just don’t understand intellectual property issues.

Kokoris sums it up perfectly, ”Sure, we have had to learn about areas of business that perhaps we weren’t experts in before 1989. Intellectual property—our trade marks, copyrighted menus, brochures and so on—all of this is just as important to us as any other business issue. Maybe more so because that is what makes us distinctive, different from the rest.”

As franchisees of The Coffee Club since 2002, Kelly Barr and Sarah Jennett can operate their busy Canberra store with the confidence that the whole operation’s IP is secure. ”After we had gone through the disclosure document with our solicitor, he said that the IP was solid and we would be protected from local and international competitors trying to imitate The Coffee Club brand, which could threaten our investment” says Sarah.

There were also provisions in the document to prevent former franchisees from setting up a similar business using The Coffee Club franchise system. ”If we choose to leave The Coffee Club network then we aren’t able to take The Coffee Club’s unique business model with us to start a new business” explains Kelly.

Sarah and Kelly checked the franchising agreement’s intellectual property clause thoroughly before signing on the dotted line. ”The agreement was quite specific for how we are to use the brand, for example, we can’t change or invert the logo colours” say Sarah. ”But these guidelines offer us assurance that the brand’s integrity will remain in tact—every outlet owner needs to follow these guidelines so we can ensure the brand retains it value. The brand conveys a certain set of expectations to our customers when they visit any of The Coffee Club outlets.”

The Coffee Club’s directors can grow their empire nationally and internationally, safe in the knowledge that their most valuable asset—their IP—is secure.

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