Can’t come up with a good brand name? Just copy one

To cope with Dhaka's relentless traffic, I have always entertained myself with small road games. One of my longest-running favourites is counting the numerous knock-off KFC outlets on the road. 

As these self-proclaimed successors to KFC continue to multiply, it has become an amusing inside joke among locals — and a reflection of our knack for taking "inspiration" from household brand names

However, the scenario becomes more distressing once this practice spreads, with time, from multinational giants and roots itself in local brands. 

Similarly, this trend has taken over one of our top local eateries, Haji Biriyani: Original Haji Biriyani, Cafe Haji Biriyani, Puran Dhaka Haji Biriyani — a different mixture of prefixes have emerged, attracting herds of customers.  

The danger is that each establishment could convincingly claim to be a branch of the real Haji Biriyani. 

The rise in replica brands, particularly those copying local brands such as Haji Biriyani, reflects a broader trend of imitation that blurs the line between inspiration and deception. Unchecked, these replica brands pose a threat to the original brands in terms of brand image through legal loopholes. 

Haji Biriyani is not the only brand that suffers from impersonation. Waffle Up, the food joint that introduced the waffle-on-a-stick concept to our local market, even adopted the slogan, 'Ashol Waffle Up chinun' or 'Get to know the real Waffle Up.' Since their viral success, many more brands such as Waffle Time and Waffle Bae have begun operating with the same concept and similar menu but with a slightly different name. 

In another example, one Google search of the restaurant Bar B Q Tonite reveals that it suffers from the same issue, with multiple options popping up, such as Bar B Q Tonight and Bar B Q Tonite (Original) — this keeps the customers guessing which one is the original.

These brands borrow from the likeness of well-established brands to give a sense of familiarity to consumers. This can either help potential customers feel confident in the counterfeit brand or confuse them entirely, mistaking the copycat for the original. 

Using the likeness of brands is not limited to using their names. Replica brands can pose as the original brand by looking like them, using elements such as the font the brand uses, the colour palette for the logo, and so on. 

For example, brands such as Khana's and Kudos are often associated with each other as well — but not for their names. Kudos not only has a similar menu as its predecessor, but it also borrows the same colour palette for its logo. 

While the tagline for Khana's is "Eat less," Kudos uses a similar one, "Eat better".

Damage to brand image

On a Facebook post in one of the many popular food groups, a user posts about her negative experience at Awake Cafe and Bistro. However, she tagged Awake Coffee Roasters in the group, prompting Awake Coffee Roasters to immediately clarify the confusion. 

One of the concerns of the overwhelming number of replica brands is the damage they can do to the image of the original brand. 

Awake Coffee Roasters' first branch used to operate in Bashundhara; however, due to a fallout with the landowner, the cafe relocated to Banani. However, another cafe opened its doors using a very similar name. 

"Bashundhara's outlet [Awake Cafe and Bistro] actually creates a lot of confusion. They kept most of the interior the same as our old store and reopened the cafe with a slightly tweaked name. With the lookalike name and branding, it creates a lot of confusion among customers," shared Navid Hasan, founder of Awake Coffee Roasters.

However, brands with a well-established presence in the market can avoid getting lost in the market. 

"Our customers do not really get us mixed up with other brands trying to impersonate us. Everyone knows we are located in Puran Dhaka, and we have been here for a long time," shared Haji Shahed Hossain, owner of Haji Biriyani.

However, the game changes entirely when you involve the fast-paced online landscape. One search is all you need to know that it is almost impossible to fish out the social media page of the original Haji Biriyani from the countless pages under the same name. 

Though their social media page is not posting updates every day, they had resorted to addressing the replica brands on their Facebook page in the past. 

Can the law protect brands?

With trademark laws in place that are meant to protect companies, it poses the question of how counterfeit brands are still able to exist. 

"Despite the legal protection that brands have, replica brands continue to exist for many reasons. For example, they may make tweaks to the original logo or name to avoid direct legal infringement. This leads them to keep functioning without facing immediate legal trouble," stated Md Ashikur Rahman, junior partner at the legal firm Farooq and Associates.

He continued, "Secondly, the enforcement of intellectual property law is very time-consuming. So, its enforcement is, at times, slow and weak. Taking legal action takes a considerable amount of time and money."

Many local brands have become victims to these loopholes, and the burden of legal actions weighs heavily on them as well. 

"In our initial agreement, we had mentioned that the landowner cannot run a cafe named 'Awake Coffee Roasters. ' However, since they tweaked the name, there was a loophole," commented Navid.

"From what our legal team tells us, it will take a long time even if we did pursue legal actions, as trademark laws in Bangladesh are not maintained efficiently," he continued. 

Another reason replica brands will be able to thrive is if the original company does not trademark their brand. As per Section 24 of the Trademark Act 2009, actions cannot be taken against infringement of an unregistered trademark — meaning that if original brands do not trademark their logo and name, it will be difficult for them to take legal action against impersonating brands. 

So, as Bangladesh follows a first-to-file system, Ashikur Rahman recommends that brands trademark their brand as soon as possible and file a lawsuit against replica brands that threaten their business.

"To file a lawsuit, a brand needs to have their trademark registered, or at least to show that the brand has applied to the proper authority to get it registered," Ashikur said.