On July 30, China Red Bull issued a statement on official channels, saying that the Changsha Intermediate People's Court's civil judgment on July 29 rejected all the claims of Thailand Tencel against China Red Bull's Changsha distributor Huaxia Sugar and Wine Company for trademark infringement. On July 31, Tencel Group issued a statement saying that the first-instance judgment made by the Changsha Intermediate People's Court has not yet taken effect and is not enforceable, and Tencel Group will appeal to protect its legitimate rights and interests in accordance with the law. At the same time, in view of the suspected procedural violations and other illegal acts in this case, Tencel Group will report and give feedback to the relevant departments in accordance with the law based on the clues it has obtained.
The full text of the statement is as follows:
In response to the statement issued by Red Bull Vitamin Beverage Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as the "Joint Venture") controlled by Reignwood Group on July 30, Tencel Group hereby clarifies that the first-instance judgment (2021) Xiang 01 Min Chu No. 564 (hereinafter referred to as the "case") made by the Intermediate People's Court of Changsha City, Hunan Province (hereinafter referred to as the "Changsha Intermediate Court") has not yet taken effect and is not enforceable, and Tencel Group will appeal to protect its legitimate rights and interests in accordance with the law. At the same time, in view of the suspected procedural violations and other illegal acts in this case, Tencel Group will report and give feedback to the relevant departments in accordance with the law based on the clues it has obtained.
In December 2020, the Supreme People's Court (hereinafter referred to as the "Supreme People's Court") (2020) Supreme Court Min Zhong No. 394 has clearly confirmed that the "Red Bull" series of trademarks is owned by Tencel Group, and that the trademark license of Tencel Group to Red Bull Vitamin Beverage Co., Ltd. expired on October 6, 2016, and the ownership of the "Red Bull" trademark is stable and clear.
The defendant in this case, Changsha Huaxia Sugar & Liquor Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Huaxia Company"), is the largest distributor of Reignwood Group in Hunan Province. In May 2021, Tencel Group filed a lawsuit and applied for act preservation, and the Changsha Intermediate People's Court issued a ruling on act preservation in the same month, requiring Huaxia Company to immediately stop selling infringing Red Bull products until the effective judgment of this case is enforced. On June 15, 2021, Huaxia Company was dissatisfied with the preservation ruling and filed a reconsideration with the Changsha Intermediate People's Court, and on June 12, 2023, the Changsha Intermediate People's Court rejected its application for reconsideration in accordance with the law. At present, the act preservation is still in effect, and Huaxia Company is still prohibited from selling "Red Bull Vitamin Functional Drink".
This case has not been heard for three years since the case was filed, and the court of first instance has unanimously pronounced a judgment that the seller's sale of "Red Bull Vitamin Functional Drink" constitutes trademark infringement, and the relevant cases have entered the second-instance procedure, and even some judgments have taken effect, and the trial of this case has been delayed until March 11, 2024. Later, on May 14, 2024, the Changsha Intermediate People's Court ruled to suspend the trial on the basis of the need to rely on the results of the trial of another case; On July 26, 2024, the Changsha Intermediate People's Court suddenly resumed the trial of the case on the grounds that new evidence and facts had emerged in this case, and that it could not be based on the trial of another case; It was not until 29 July that the first-instance verdict was suddenly handed down without any new verdict, new facts or evidence. In addition to the major procedural anomalies that have not been held for three years, the Changsha Intermediate People's Court has made a series of abnormal rulings in the past six months, hastily resuming the trial without hearing the opinions of the rights holders, and concluding the trial within 3 days after the resumption of the trial, which is suspected of procedural violations.
In addition, the judgment has serious violations of the law, such as misleading processing and tampering with the description of the facts determined in the effective ruling of the Supreme People's Court, selectively ignoring our evidence, etc., and Tencel Group will form a written report and submit it to the relevant departments in accordance with the law in the near future.
Since 2021, the Zhejiang High Court, the Jilin High Court, the Heilongjiang High Court and courts in many places across the country have made first-instance judgments against the infringement of Reignwood Group and its upstream and downstream affiliates, unanimously determining that the relevant defendants infringed the exclusive right to use the Red Bull trademark of Tencel Group, and at the same time, a judgment has taken effect, with a cumulative amount of nearly 600 million yuan. In June 2024, the second instance of the trademark infringement lawsuit against the joint venture company and Reignwood Factory has been heard by the Supreme People's Court, and has now entered the final stage before the judgment is pronounced. However, the first-instance judgment in this case is completely contradictory to the above-mentioned judgment and the effective judgment of the Supreme People's Court, and runs counter to the equal protection of the legitimate rights and interests of foreign investors in China advocated by the Chinese government. For any infringement of the exclusive right to use the trademark "Red Bull", Tencel Group will take all legal means to protect its legitimate rights and interests, and will never make concessions to illegal forces.
Attached is the full text of the statement issued by Red Bull Vitamin Beverage Co., Ltd. on July 30:
In 2021, Thailand Tencel initiated a lawsuit against Changsha Huaxia Sugar and Wine Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Sugar and Wine Company"), a partner of China's Red Bull industry chain, with the intention of obstructing and disrupting the legitimate business of China's Red Bull partner on the grounds of trademark infringement. On July 29, 2024, the Civil Judgment of the Intermediate People's Court of Changsha Municipality, Hunan Province ((2021) Xiang 01 Minchu No. 564) rendered a judgment in the case, rejecting all of Thailand's Tencel claims, which are as follows:
In the judgment, the Changsha Intermediate People's Court once again clearly affirmed the core point of the Supreme People's Court in the retrial case related to the ownership of the Red Bull trademark "50-year exclusive right of use". The Changsha Intermediate People's Court held that, according to the (2021) Zui Gao Fa Min Shen No. 1162 Civil Ruling issued by the Supreme People's Court on August 31, 2023, the Supreme People's Court held that the 95-year Joint Venture Contract submitted by Red Bull and the 50-year Agreement submitted by Red Bull in the retrial review stage belonged to the exclusive use of the trademark by the trademark registrant to others, and the trademark registrant himself was not allowed to use the registered trademark in violation of the license contract after the exclusive license of the trademark. 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 to use.
At the same time, the judgment also confirmed the authenticity and legality of the relevant facts of the long-term agreements signed between Thailand Tencel and Red Bull Vitamin Beverage Co., Ltd. (i.e. China Red Bull) in 1995 and the 40-year Trademark Use Right Contract signed in 1998.
Based on this, the Changsha Intermediate People's Court held that "Tencel Company currently does not have sufficient and effective evidence to prove that Red Bull Company infringed Tencel's trademark right, so its claim that Red Bull's subordinate distributor Sugar and Liquor Company infringed the trademark right in this case is not based on sufficient grounds, and this court does not support it." ”
The above-mentioned judgment is a strong support for the legitimate rights of China Red Bull's industry chain partners, agents and distributors at all levels to sell "Red Bull Vitamin Functional Drink", and also reaffirms the legality of China Red Bull's 50-year exclusive operation of Red Bull Beverage in China since 1995. Thailand Tencel should respect historical objective facts, fulfill contractual obligations, protect the legitimate rights and interests of China Red Bull and its long-term industrial chain partners and distributors, and take the initiative to withdraw other similar lawsuits to avoid abuse of judicial resources and affect the development of China's real economy.
China Red Bull always believes in the fair and just judgment of the Chinese judiciary. We will continue to provide consumers with high-quality products, defend the rights and interests of consumers in accordance with the law, protect the fruits of our 29 years of hard work, and the rights and interests of millions of stakeholders in the industrial chain.
(Source: China News Network, WeChat public account of Tencel Group)
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