By King & Wood’s Trademark Practice

Since 2005, several kinds of fake drinks trademarked "RED BULL" have appeared in the market across China. After 5 years of tough fighting, the real "RED BULL" now is very close to the victory in a vital battle.

The trademark protection for "RED BULL" is a tough story, mainly because a third party registered "RED BULL" on non-medical nutritional drinks in Class 30, which was the driving force for various trademark infringements. Through its own companies or licensing others to produce or sell energy drinks, the party has severely infringed the trademark rights of the real owner of "RED BULL". On July 16, 2010, Beijing High People’s Court ruled that the aforesaid trademark shall be cancelled. The Trademark Review and Adjudication Board (TRAB) reheard the case and made its decision on September 26, 2010. As expected, WEI Tingjian, the individual who registered the mark in bad faith, sued again before the court. It is likely that, before "RED BULL" can effectively tackle the trademark infringements in China, it will have to go through a new round of fighting.

 

Genuine or counterfeit?