Herbal tea maker to pay rival US$1.77m
Print Edition
A STORM in a herbal tea cup came to the boil yesterday when a court ruled in favor of Guangzhou Pharmaceutical Group and ordered JDB Group to pay it 10.8 million yuan (US$1.77 million) in compensation.
JDB was also ordered to drop the use of a controversial advertising slogan claiming it was China’s leading herbal tea brand and to publish apologies on the front pages of the Nanfang Daily and Guangzhou Daily newspapers as well as on the People’s Daily website (www.people.com.cn).
In an official statement, JDB Group said yesterday it would appeal the Guangzhou Intermediate People’s Court ruling.
In September, Guangzhou Pharmaceutical argued in court that JDB’s slogan “the sales leader in the red-can herbal tea has changed name to Jiaduobao” was misleading to consumers and constituted unfair competition.
‘No confusion’
Guangzhou Pharmaceutical filed for an injunction in January and major TV stations pulled the advertisement from their screens.
JDB argued that its advertising was true and that “red-can herbal tea” had been its special brand name, therefore no confusion had been caused.
In its statement yesterday, JDB reiterated that its advertising slogans reflected the facts and it would be sticking to the expressions.
The advertisement was strictly in line with trade association regulations and other related rules, it argued. “We were appalled by today’s ruling and will continue to defend our rights through legal means,” it said.
The two herbal tea makers’ dispute dates back to last year, when a ruling by the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission forbid JDB Group from using the Wong Lo Kat trademark.
JDB Group, a unit of Hong Kong-based Hung To (Holdings) Co, has been producing the red-canned Wong Lo Kat herbal tea product since 1997.
It received the trademark through the authorization of Guangzhou Pharmaceutical and the use was extended until 2020 through two supplement contracts, which were all found invalid by the arbitration commission.
JDB had to use the “Jiaduobao” brand since then.
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