news

한어Русский языкEnglishFrançaisIndonesianSanskrit日本語DeutschPortuguêsΕλληνικάespañolItalianoSuomalainenLatina

As the core lawsuit in the Red Bull dispute has yet to come to a conclusion, Thai T.C. Pharmaceutical Healthcare Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Thai T.C.) and Reignwood Fast-Moving Consumer Goods Group (hereinafter referred to as Reignwood Fast-Moving Consumer Goods) continue to fight fiercely on the channel side. Thai T.C. has attempted to undermine the confidence of Reignwood Fast-Moving Consumer Goods distributors by suing some merchants and distributors selling Reignwood Red Bull.

On July 30, China Red Bull released a statement on its official channel saying that the Changsha Intermediate People's Court's (2021) Xiang 01 Minchu 564 Civil Judgment No. 564 on July 29 had rejected all the claims filed by Thai Tianshi against China Red Bull Changsha distributor Huaxia Sugar and Wine Company for trademark infringement. The next day, Thai Tianshi immediately issued a statement in response saying that the first-instance judgment had not yet taken effect.

Huasha Sugar and Wine Co., Ltd. in Changsha City, Hunan Province was established in 1992. It is also one of the major dealers of Red Bull in China. The cooperation has lasted for 21 years. The annual sales of Red Bull vitamin functional drinks exceed 200 million yuan.

In 2021, Thai Tianshi filed a lawsuit against Huaxia Tangjiu for trademark infringement. After trial, the Changsha Intermediate People's Court finally determined that Tianshi Company currently has no sufficient and effective evidence to prove that Red Bull Company has infringed Tianshi Company's trademark rights, so its claim that Tangjiu Company, a subordinate distributor of Red Bull Company, has infringed the trademark rights in this case is insufficient.

China Red Bull said in a statement that the Changsha Intermediate People's Court once again clearly recognized the core point of the Supreme Court's retrial case on the ownership of Red Bull's trademark, "50 years of exclusive use rights." The Changsha Intermediate People's Court determined that: According to the Civil Ruling No. (2021) Supreme People's Court Civil Application No. 1162 made by the Supreme People's Court on August 31, 2023, the Supreme People's Court believes that the "95-year Joint Venture Contract" submitted by Red Bull and the 50-year "Agreement" submitted in the original during the retrial review stage belong to the trademark registrant licensing the trademark to others for exclusive use. After the trademark is exclusively licensed, the trademark registrant itself shall not use the registered trademark in violation of the license contract. Under the exclusive licensing model, the trademark registrant only grants others the right to use the trademark within a certain time and space, limiting its own right of use.

On the 31st, Thai Tianshi issued a statement to refute, saying that the first-instance judgment made by the Changsha Intermediate Court has not yet taken effect and is not enforceable, and Tianshi Group will appeal in accordance with the law to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests. The case is still ongoing, so Huaxia Company is still prohibited from selling China Red Bull.

The dispute between China and Thailand Red Bull, which began in 2016, has been in a stalemate, and the battlefield between the two sides has evolved from a "litigation war" to a "channel war." A key point in the litigation between the two sides is whether the 50-year cooperation agreement between China Red Bull shareholders offered by Reignwood Consumer Products is valid.

In 1993, Xu Shubiao, the founder of Thai Tianshi, came to Hainan to invest and build a factory in order to produce Red Bull drinks in China. However, since Red Bull drinks contain caffeine, inositol and other additives that require approval for production, the company was unable to start production until early 1995 because it did not obtain a production license.

Things took a turn for the better in 1995. Yan Bin, the founder of the Reignwood Group, and the Thai side jointly established China Red Bull in China, and introduced China Food Industry (Group) Corporation (hereinafter referred to as "China Food Company") and Shenzhen Zhonghao (Group) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Zhonghao Company") as partners. Eventually, they obtained approval and China Red Bull was listed.

According to the agreement, Thai Red Bull founder Xu Shubiao provided brand authorization, and Yan Bin was responsible for production and sales. After years of hard work by both parties, Red Bull has achieved great success in China, with sales exceeding 20 billion yuan in 2016.

But after Xu Shubiao passed away in 2012, his successor Xu Xingxiong suddenly launched an attack. From the end of 2015, as the trademark registration was about to expire, the conflict between Thai Tianshi and Huabin Group gradually broke out.

Thai Tianshi said that the cooperation period between the two parties is 20 years, and the trademark license of China Red Bull expired on October 6, 2016. The Reignwood Group produced a four-party cooperation agreement, saying that China Red Bull has the exclusive right to produce and sell Red Bull beverages in China, which is valid for 50 years (from November 10, 1995 to November 9, 2045). At an event, Yan Bin, the founder of the Reignwood Group, angrily denounced Thai Tianshi, saying that "someone wants to pick peaches."

The two sides have also engaged in a series of lawsuits over the validity of this 50-year cooperation agreement, but the outcome has not yet been determined.

Zhu Danpeng, vice president of the Guangdong Food Safety Promotion Association, told the First Financial Daily that in the current Red Bull market, main channels such as distributors are still under the control of the Reignwood Group, and the litigation between the two parties has not yet determined the winner. Thai Tianshi hopes to muddy the market by "taking action" against distributors, thereby undermining the confidence of Reignwood Red Bull sellers.