Chinese century-long food brand wins lawsuit against German company

BEIJING, Nov. 19 (Xinhua) -- A famous Chinese beancurd brand, Wangzhihe, has won its lawsuit against a German supermarket for trademark infringement, according to general manager of the Wangzhihe group on Monday.

A local court in Munich, where the case was heard on August 8, ruled last Wednesday that the OKAI company should stop using the Wangzhihe trademark logo in Germany and the brand OKAI registered there should be revoked, said Wang Jiahuai, general manager of Wangzhihe.

Beijing-based Wangzhihe, started in 1678 and featured Beijing-style pungent beancurd, noticed in July 2006 that its brand had been registered by OKAI on November 21, 2005. As it wanted to expand into the German market it filed a lawsuit against OKAI in a court in Munich in January 2007.

"Our success shows that Chinese companies could and should safeguard their lawful rights in foreign countries using the law," Wang Jiahuai said.

During the lawsuit, Wangzhihe applied for the registration of its brand in Germany. The brand has been registered in over 40 countries and regions worldwide.

"The brand has been handed down through generations," said WangJiahuai before the result was known, "we would allow nobody to steal it."

Chinese companies are learning to protect their patent rights amid disputes. The latest report from the World Intellectual Property Organization shows that China has become the world's third largest patent rights applicant. Moreover, China is the fourth largest nation, after the United States, Japan and the Republic of Korea, in terms of patent applications approved.