NZ fruit company sues Jiangsu trader

A New Zealand kiwifruit marketing company took a Jiangsu Province fruit trading company to court, accusing it of trademark infringement and demanding 300,000 yuan (US$39,474) compensation.

Shanghai No. 1 Intermediate People's Court heard the case yesterday but didn't give a verdict.

New Zealand Zespri Group Limited, the world's biggest kiwifruit marketing company, sells kiwifruit in about 70 countries and regions. It entered the mainland market in 1998 and registered its trademark as Zespri with a logo showing sunbeams.

But company officials found a similar trademark and logo on kiwifruit sold by Xishu Fruit Trading Company in the local market earlier this year.

They reported the case to Shanghai Administration of Industry and Commerce, as Xishu's fruit bore the trademark Znishio and a similar sunbeam logo. The watchdog seized about 100 boxes of the fruit and the labels.

However, Zespri told the court that Xishu continued selling the fruit with the similar trademark, which also appeared on its Website.

During the hearing, Xishu argued the two words were obviously different. The sunbeam, it said, was a common way of representing the fruit.