By Geetha K
These days, we can’t go anywhere without seeing a McDonald’s® or Starbucks®, and while it may be difficult to imagine – they were once start-ups too. The former began as a single burger store in Illinois, USA and has since ballooned to a massive 35,000 outlets in 119 countries. Starbucks® Coffee, meanwhile, started in 1971 and sold quality coffee beans and related equipment. When they finally started selling coffee beverages, they stumbled upon something with enormous potential. Starbucks® now has around 21,000 outlets in 63 countries.
But let’s start at the very beginning. How did these stores, dealing with common non-sophisticated products, even succeed as start-ups, much less grow into the international business operations they are today? Where do Intellectual Property rights come into play?