China: Zhejiang-based beer company ordered by court to pay Harbin Brewery Group for confusing packaging

A city court has ordered a Zhejiang-based beer company to pay Harbin Brewery Group Ltd 400,000 yuan ($64,717) for employing packaging that bore too much of a resemblance to its competitor's, Shanghai No.1 Intermediate People's Court announced on April, 22.

The court ruled that the defendant, Xiyingmen Beer Co Ltd, had infringed on Harbin Brewery's well-known trademark and caused the plaintiff to lose money due to customer confusion, according to a court press release.

China's Anti-Unfair Competition Law bars companies from using packaging similar to that of their competitors without authorization.

"An important part of the case was determining whether Harbin Brewery Group's beer could be considered a famous product, because the value of the trademark lies in how well consumers recognize it," said Judge Hu Zhenyuan, who presided over the case.

According to the China Alcoholic Drinks Association, Harbin Brewery ranked in the top 10 of the industry in terms of production volume and sales from 2004 to 2011.

In a previous dispute, Changsha Intermediate People's Court in Hunan Province recognized Harbin Brewery's trademark as a famous trademark in China, according to a court press release.

The court favored the argument that the beer maker's trademark was well-known among the public.

Besides, Hu said that another focal point of the case was whether the plaintiff's product packaging was distinctive enough for consumers to differentiate it from other products of the same kind.

The court ruled that the feature pattern on the bottle was distinctive enough. When the defendant used similar packaging, there was sufficient evidence to show that consumers confused the two companies' products and may have bought the defendant's beer by mistake.

The court also ordered Xiyingmen Beer to publish a public apology to Harbin Brewery Group within 30 days of its decision.

24 April, 2013