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Vietnamese enterprise wins brand name case in China

The Beijing Commercial Court ruled in favour of the Vinamit's ownership of the Duc Thanh brand name over a Chinese rival.

The Beijing Commercial Court has ruled in favour of the Vietnamese dried fruit manufacturer Vinamit's ownership of the Duc Thanh brand name over a Chinese rival.

Vietnamese enterprise wins brand name case in China - 1
 

Vinamit’s Chinese distributor, Xie Hong Yi, illegally registered the Vietnamese company’s brand name. This has become an increasingly difficult problem in recent years, with local businesspeople offering to sell back the names at high prices or using the name to win market share.

Vinamit's Chairman Nguyen Lam Vien entered the Chinese market in 1997. Vien said, "In 1993, We registered the trade name Vinamit in Vietnam and later, we registered Duc Thanh in China. Yet we still fell foul. The Chinese laws requires a Chinese name besides the original registered name."

In 2007, after he saw that the Duc Thanh brand had registered by another individual, he knew he had to win the rights to the name.

As predicted, in 2009, Vinamit started to lose their market shares in China. "In 2010, we decided to build our headquarter in Guangzhou and branches in Nanjing, Beijing and Shanghai. Directly selling our products to big supermarkets such as Wal-mart, Carre Four or Lotus would boost our business." he said.

However, Vinamit's distributors told him that the Duc Thanh didn't belong to Vinamit. Vinamit then decided to bring the matter to court.

On December 25, 2012, at the third session, the Beijing Commercial Court reached a ruling that stated that, "Xie Hong Yi - a Chinese businessman - knew that Vinamit owned a well-known brand name and took the chance to register it first. This action violated Article 31 of the Trademark Laws. Therefore, the name will be withdrawn."

Most Vietnamese products are brought to China via border trade or even by the foreign traders because the cost for official trade is 20% higher. Currently, Vietnamese farm products are gaining a foothold in the Chinese market, prompting increasing numbers of brand name disputes.

Vien advised that companies should not only thoroughly analyse potential markets, but also register their brand names in the target markets before signing any contracts.

"I called the Chinese government for help because our company has its headquarters in their country. I want our Vietnamese brand names to be protected in foreign markets." Vien said.

Source: Dau Tu, dtinews.vn
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