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Old brand 'likely to win trademark case'

By Tuo Yannan (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-04-22 07:47

A centennial Chinese brand is very likely to win a landmark lawsuit case over a German firm that rush-registered its trademark, a Chinese official said yesterday.

Wangzhihe Food Group, producer of the popular Chinese food bean curd under the brand name Wangzhihe, may get the trademark back in Germany tomorrow, when the Munich High Court makes a ruling, Vice-Minister of State Administration for Industry and Commerce Li Jianchang said.

The case dates back to July 2006, when the Chinese firm wanted to register in Germany, only to find that Germany-based OKAI had already registered its trademark.

Wangzhihe took OKAI to court in January 2007 after the two failed to reach an agreement. On Nov 14, 2007, a Munich court found OKAI guilty of trademark infringement. But OKAI appealed to the Munich High Court in February, 2008,

"This case tells us that Chinese companies should attach great importance to protecting their trademarks overseas, as in many counties, trademarks are registered on a first-come-first-served basis," Li said.

Chinese brands, especially old ones, are rush-registered overseas, forcing them to spend a lot buying back the trademarks.

"Last year Chinese companies registered more than 2,000 trademarks in overseas markets, bringing the total to 8,620 by the end of 2008," Li said.

Authorities received 828,328 patent applications last year, up 19.4 percent year-on-year.

By the end of last year, China received 4,853,506 patent applications, 2,501,268 of which were approved.