On May 13, 2021, Wuxi City Intermediate People's Court decided on a public interest litigation case involving counterfeit Starbucks trademarks. The plaintiff was Jiangsu Consumer Council. The court ordered the defendant, Shuangshan Foods (Xiamen) Co., Ltd. to pay triple punitive damages of RMB 21.72 million (~USD 3.4 million).
From 2017 to 2019, Shuangshan company and its controllers, Chen and Zhen (currently in prison), sold coffee with counterfeit "Starbucks" trademark to 18 provinces across China, and the illegal sales amounted to RMB 7.24 million (~USD 1.13 million).
On December 6, 2019, Chen and Zhen were sentenced to criminal punishment by the People's Court of Xinwu District, Wuxi City for the crime of selling goods bearing counterfeit registered trademarks. Shuangshan company were fined RMB 3.2 million (~USD 500,000). After that, on September 28, 2020, Jiangsu Consumer Council, as the plaintiff, filed a consumer public interest lawsuit against Shuangshan company with Wuxi City Intermediate People's Court which then made above decision with punitive damages.
However, for the damages awarded in a public interest litigation case, there are currently no relevant regulations available regarding how unspecified consumers could financially benefit from the awarded damages.
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