Starbucks’ cup runneth over

SEATTLE — Consumers’ appetite for Starbucks Corp.’s lattes and other delicacies continued to grow in the company’s fiscal fourth quarter, pushing earnings up 21 percent.

Meanwhile, a potentially big new market for Starbucks opened up, with a Russian regulatory agency beating back an attempt by a trademark squatter to control Starbucks’ brand name in that country.

Starbucks regained the right to use its brand on coffee houses in Russia after a protracted legal battle with OOO Starbucks, the Russian company that had held the trademark rights. OOO Starbucks had wanted Starbucks Corp. to pay $600,000 for the logo, but Rospatent, Russia’s intellectual property agency, ruled in favor of the Seattle company.

There are no branded Starbucks coffee shops in Moscow, though the coffee can be found in a basement cafe in one of the city’s hotels.

Executives at Seattle-based Starbucks have previously said they see a lot of potential for Starbucks in the Russian market, but the company hasn’t announced any plans yet to expand there. In a statement Thursday, Starbucks said it was pleased with the decision.

The high-profile case has been seen as a litmus test of Russia’s commitment to tackling rampant intellectual property abuses. U.S. concerns over its record on music and video piracy, as well as trademark and patent violations, have overshadowed talks on Russia’s accession to the World Trade Organization. In Russia the business of registering trademarks and selling them back to their true owners is widely practiced.

Starbucks said Thursday that it earned $123.7 million, or 16 cents per share, in the 13 weeks ending Oct. 2. The company earned $102.6 million, or 12 cents per share, in the 14-week period a year earlier.

Revenue for the company’s fiscal fourth quarter increased 14 percent to $1.66 billion, up from $1.45 billion in the comparable period last year.