As reported by Decanter, Château Lafitte claimed victory against an ongoing trademark case and can reportedly sell Bordeaux wine in China under the name Château Lafitte. See Chateau Lafitte Claims Trademark Wine in China. The dispute in China has been ongoing for about two years and has been between Château Lafitte and Château…
Tag: China
Penfolds: The Unfolding of China’s New Trademark Law
A new case that may show the effects of China’s recently updated trademark law made headlines this last week. Treasury Wine Estates reported that the company did not register the Chinese name for Penfolds and is currently engaging in a legal battle with Li Daozhi, an allegedly notorious trademark squatter….
The New Chinese Trademark Law In Effect: The Wine Version
There’s been a lot of news over the last few months with respect to China and wine trademarks, especially with respect to French winemakers. See, e.g., Is China Making a Step Forward in Wine Trademark Law? and French Wine Company Castel Frères to Pursue Trademark Battle Against Panati in China’s Supreme Court. On May…
Is China Making a Step Forward in Wine Trademark Law?
One of my recent pieces was published by Cornell International Law Journal Online, which is an incredible online collection of short publications written by attorneys and law students discussing contemporary legal issues in various fields. I wrote about China with respect to trademark and the wine industry. Specifically, I discussed…
TTB Issues Public Guidance on Wine Export Certificates for U.S. Wines Exported to China
On December 17, 2013, TTB issued a public guidance on Wine Export Certificates for U.S. wines that are exported to the People’s Republic of China. See General Instructions for “Wine Export Certificate” for U.S. Wine Products Exported from the United States to the People’s Republic of China. Previously, the People’s Republic of…
Hennessy Wins Trademark Infringement Case in China Against Beijing Company
The Drinks Business reported last week that renowned cognac producer Hennessy won a trademark case in China against a Beijing company for trademark infringement and unfair competition. As demonstrated previously, China can be a difficult market for true brand owners to obtain trademark. See, e.g., Kasite Trademark Sours for French Vintner Caste; see also What’s…
French Wine Company Castel Frères to Pursue Trademark Battle Against Panati in China’s Supreme Court
A few weeks ago, On Reserve documented the story of Château Listran and the winery’s inevitable trademark defeat in the Chinese market by way of brand squatters. This week, we bring you a very similar story detailing the grievances of China’s trademark laws and impact on true brand owners who pursue…
What’s in a Name: French Winery Forced to Change Trademark to Avoid Squatters
A common theme in the age of the Internet is a concept known as cybersquatting (or domain squatting). Simply put, cybersquatting entails the registration of a domain name in bad faith, i.e., registering a domain name of a trademark with the intent to later sell the domain to the company…
Changyu Wine Ends 10-Year Dispute Over Entitlement to Cabernet Trademark
Recently, Yantai Changyu Pioneer Wine ended a 10-year dispute with six wine companies over legal entitlement to the Cabernet trademark (解百纳 or phonetically, “Jie Bai Na”). The dispute over the trademark questioned whether Changyu could dominate the Cabernet trademark as its common ingredient used to produce wine and as a common…
New Composition Regulations for Swiss and Chinese Wines
Two countries—China and Switzerland—recently changed their rules with respect to composition of certain wine products. China altered its rules with about sulfites in wine products to ease international commerce. The Chinese Health Department created an amendment and presented it to the Chinese legislature to revise the rulings on food additives….