The established Chinese fermented beancurd brand Wangzhihe vowed
to "bring the lawsuit with a German company to the end," said its
general manager on Thursday.
OKAI, a department store of Germany, was accused of illegally
registering the Wangzhihe logo in Germany. A Munich court heard the
case on Wednesday, but the results are still unknown.
Wangzhihe started in 1678 and features fermented seasoning
products. On November 21 2005 OKAI registered the logo. Wangzhihe
noticed this discrepancy in July 2006 when it wanted to expand its
market and register the logo in Germany. They filed a lawsuit
against OKAI in a Munich court in January 2007.
According to Wang Hongqing, intellectual property consultant of
Wangzhihe, OKAI argued that the logo of Wangzhihe was "a common
portrait of Chinese ancient soldier" and that the registration is
lawful.
"OKAI has been selling products by Wangzhihe for quite some time
and it is impossible that it did not recognize our logo," Wang
said, adding that the logo was designed by a Chinese professor who
had transferred the copyright to Wangzhihe in the form of
contract.
"The brand has been handed down through generations," said Wang
Jiahuai, general manager of the Wangzhihe Food Group, "We won't
allow anyone to steal it from us."
(Xinhua News Agency August 10, 2007)