Lovegravy:

I see the point you're making about protecting things like the Store Layout etc. etc.

BUT: There are so many Starbucks, so many people going there every day, if someone wants to "rip off" the Starbucks idea they already have.

You don't need photos to get the layouts, just sit at a table, sip the beverage of your choice and draw the layout on a legal pad.

As such the idea that it's about their IP protection is sort of bogus, there are TONS of knockoff places there, and what differenciates Starbucks from others is not the store layout but their name and the quality (or lack thereof depending on your taste) of their products.

They have way more to loose if someone buys their new fancy drink and then get's it analyzed in a food lab and sells that to a competing company than from someone taking taking pictures inside a Starbucks.

Just my 2 cents (and Canadian at that).