The putatively brilliant bit is in taking the C&D and turning it into a PR bonanza, which he has. Else why would we even be talking about this?

Note that unlike some stories like this, he's not standing his (legally hopeless) ground, but has indeed changed the offending name, so he turned something he had to do anyhow into a benefit for his business.

Yes, it is a brilliant marketing move how he's playing it.

I doubt I'm alone, but I had no idea it was a Starbucks trademark in the first place. I thought it was just the generic name of the drink and did not associate it with Starbucks at all. That said, I don't drink coffee.

If you start selling a pasta dish called Coca-Cola, does the same logic apply?