The final verdict in a lawsuit by hundreds-year-old Chinese beancurd brand “Wangzhihe” against a German supermarket is due April 23. The dispute centers on whether OKAI, the supermarket that registered Wangzhihe's logo in Germany, is a competitor to the Chinese company, and whether Wangzhihe had marketing and sales activities in Germany. According to the Chinese party, they had confidence in winning the lawsuit.
Beijing-based Wangzhihe, established in 1678 and specializing in Beijing-style pungent beancurd, noticed in July 2006 that its brand was already registered by OKAI on Nov. 21, 2005. The mark was exactly the same as Wangzhihe. Failing to obtain its mark after negotiations, the Chinese company filed a lawsuit against OKAI in a court in Munich in January 2007.
In November 2007, the local court ruled that it was an infringement and unfair competition by OKAI to have intentionally registered the mark Wangzhihe in Germany. Accordingly, the court ordered OKAI to stop the use of the mark in German market and cancel the mark. OKAI appealed to the higher court on Feb. 25, 2008, and the case was heard early in 2009.
This is not the only case in which famous Chinese brands were intentionally registered by others in foreign countries.
