Recently, the Chongqing Municipal Higher People's Court (hereinafter referred to as the "Chongqing Higher People's Court") issued a judgment confirming that the rights and interests of the golden can decoration belong to TENCEL Group. Red Bull of China issued a statement saying that in the early days of its establishment in 1995, Red Bull of China designed the classic "Red Bull Beverage Golden Can Packaging and Decoration" of Red Bull Beverage, and the fact that it enjoyed the legitimate rights and interests of "Red Bull Beverage Golden Can Packaging and Decoration" in accordance with the law has been confirmed by the effective judgments of the Guangdong High Court, the Foshan Intermediate Court and other courts.
China Red Bull said that the incident reported by the media was that Red Bull of China sued Sichuan Fushun Company for infringement of packaging and decoration dispute in Chongqing, which had been supported by the first-instance judgment, and in the second-instance trial procedure of the case, Thai Tencel took the initiative to join the case as a third party without independent claims, assisting it in escaping tort liability and conniving at its illegal infringement.
Cracking down on counterfeiting and rights protection has become a dispute over "golden pot decoration". Thai Tencel not only helped the manufacturers and operators of "copycat Red Bull" products win the lawsuit, but also overturned the court of first instance's judgment that Red Bull of China has an interest in the "Red Bull Beverage Golden Can Packaging and Decoration".
Thailand has hosted four Asian Games in the last century. In the 1970s, seeing the hard work of the museum's construction workers, Mr. Xu Shubiao, a Thai Chinese, invented a tonic drink called "Krating Daeng". In 1982, austrian businessman Matt Schütz discovered the drink and had the idea of introducing it to Europe, but he did not want to be just an agent, so it was very likely that after the brand grew, it would be kicked away by the manufacturer. Under The lobbying of Matt Schitz, Xu Shubiao agreed to set up a joint venture in Austria, with Xu Shubiao and Matt Schöntz each holding 49% of the shares, and 2% going to Xu Shubei's eldest son, Xu Shuen. In 1983, the Austrian joint venture improved the formulation and registered the "Red Bull" trademark, and the European joint venture was operated by Matt Schitz. It can be said that Xu Shubiao invented "Krating Daeng", but it was Matt Schetts who really created and promoted Red Bull to become a famous international brand around the world. Responsible for the Chinese market trading is Reignwood Group and Chairman Yan Bin.
Tencel said that in 1982, the classic gold can Red Bull beverage on a blue background began to be exported to Singapore; in the early 1990s, it was brought to the Chinese market by Mr. Xu Shubiao, and was the designer and earliest user of the Decoration of the Red Bull Gold Can. In fact, it was only in September 1995 that the formulations and ingredients of Red Bull Vitamin Functional Drinks were approved. In July 1996, Red Bull applied to the China Patent Office and obtained the design patent of "Red Bull Beverage Golden Can Packaging and Decoration", and in October 1996, the Chinese traditional Red Bull + figure trademark was successfully registered. A brand that has become famous in the world does not even have a production and sales license in China, can it be said that it already has brand awareness and market value?
It is understood that China Red Bull can sell 20 billion yuan per year, mainly as a result of Reignwood's continuous investment in expanding production scale and sales network. Tencel has stationed several workers and provided flavors and fragrances in all its factories. Red Bull Thailand, the largest shareholder in the industrial and commercial registration of the joint venture, is composed of the Thai Reignwood, Yanbin and Xu families, and Yan Bin's daughter is the largest individual shareholder. After Xu Shubiao died of illness in 2012, that is, when Red Bull was about to break through 10 billion, there was friction between the two sides. In fact, TENCEL Group CEO Commercial Assistant and Chinese Translation registered Brand Culture Co., Ltd. in Hong Kong, and the company later acquired Guangzhou Yao Energy, which was the predecessor of Red Bull Aneji. A series of operations, no wonder, China's Red Bull said that Thailand's TENCEL heirs tore up the contract, poached executives, and had long been arranged. The identity of the registered owner of the trademark has become a product cover for tencel sales that are almost identical to the packaging and decoration of Red Bull in China, but the formula and ingredients are very different, and it is suspected of ignoring the consumer's right to know.
China Red Bull is still actually operated by Reignwood Group, but it is already a national enterprise with cumulative sales of 250 billion yuan and tax payment of more than 35 billion yuan. The international arbitration between Reignwood Group and THAI TENCEL is still on the way, and the 50-year agreement is still pending. On the one hand, Thai Tencel did everything to hinder its own trial, refusing to admit to signing the document in the face of black-and-white agreements and evidence; on the other hand, it manipulated new domestic agents to create public opinion, and even frequently launched lawsuits through financial leverage, intimidating and sabotaging partners who have made great contributions to the Chinese Red Bull brand at a very small cost, affecting the livelihood of hundreds of people; not only disrupting the order of fair and legal competition in the FMCG market, but also seriously harming the interests of all dealers.
What China Red Bull is puzzled by is that the evidence used outside the territory of Thai Tencel has become the main basis for the second-instance judgment. In 1996, the sale of imported small amounts of Red Bull beverages faced huge legal risks, in July 1996, Red Bull of China obtained a patent for the appearance of packaging and decoration, and in 2012, the Trademark of Red Bull Nutrition Liquid was finally revoked, and it was in China Red Bull that it continued to standardize legal documents and fight counterfeit rights protection to clear the way for the Red Bull brand of China. Red Bull of China stated that it would never approve the determination of the second-instance judgment in the case against a third-party infringing entity, and would never allow TENCEL Thailand to use evidence of illegal use from outside the territory to seize the "Right to Package and Decorate the Golden Can of Red Bull Beverage" belonging to the Chinese market.
What cannot be ignored is that the packaging and decoration rights of the golden can are formed by the large-scale practical use of Red Bull china for more than 20 years. In recent years, TENCEL Group has not participated in actual operations and is not responsible for market risks, but in recent years, it has sponsored huge amounts of intellectual property-related associations and seminars in China, talking about being a tree planter of the Chinese Red Bull brand, and even rising to be a contributor to the country's economic exchanges for more than 20 years. Some big V has said that the Thai side has repeatedly hurt the feelings of the Chinese people, and it should be discussed whether to put it on the "unreliable entity list".
At present, no court or arbitration institution has found that Red Bull China infringed the use of the Red Bull trademark to produce Red Bull beverages. On the contrary, Reignwood Group and its affiliates have spent huge sums of money to improve production technology, improve production facilities, expand production scale, and maintain the market value of China's Red Bull brand through some production and operation activities. The Hainan Red Bull factory only oem for Red Bull China under a 50-year agreement, due to outdated equipment and limited output, the value of contribution to the market is extremely small.
Red Bull of China stated that the court had clarified the authenticity of the "Fifty-Year Agreement" and obtained evidence related to the "Fifty-Year Agreement", and the appraisal conclusions of the authoritative appraisal body also confirmed that the representative of the "Fifty-Year Agreement" was signed by the representative of Tiansi Company. In addition, the English version of the "Fifty-Year Agreement" and witness testimony further confirm the authenticity of the "Fifty-Year Agreement", and the truth will eventually be cleared. Red Bull china also said that Thai Tencel has benefited from the rapid development of Red Bull China, and there are still executives serving as directors of Red Bull China. Since 2016, he has spared no expense in poaching, started a new agency team, recruited senior managers working at Red Bull China, and employees who mastered commercial secrets such as China Red Bull's management system, legal system, marketing data and even national sales network, which has constituted serious unfair competition.
The Red Bull controversy in China is no longer just a legal issue, but also a matter of impact on socio-economic and business ethics. Red Bull of China appealed that these abusive litigation acts, on the one hand, disrupted the normal litigation order; on the other hand, disrupted the market order, harmed the legitimate rights and interests of others, and increased the unnecessary social costs of Red Bull disputes. Therefore, Red Bull of China will report it according to law, reflect to the relevant departments the chain of interests behind the suspected unfair competition, and request the relevant departments to regulate its abuse of litigation rights.
After 6 years of "China Red Bull Defense War", the major dealers and suppliers of China Red Bull have deeply understood that safeguarding rights according to law will eventually gain long-term benefits. Borrowing the name of protecting intellectual property rights, trampling on the long-term contractual spirit of all parties, especially over-interpreting or even distorting legal documents to mislead public opinion, has seriously hindered the Red Bull brand from continuing to grow bigger and stronger, and has established a negative example in the Chinese business environment in which respecting intellectual property rights in the name actually threatens the development of the industrial chain and the actual interests of all parties involved in the development of the industrial chain and hinders the healthy development of China's beverage industry. Some self-media exaggerated the facts, borrowing the obviously controversial judgment as a "reassuring pill" to threaten the choice of Red Bull dealers in China, which is already the heart of Sima Zhao, and passers-by are well known. (Information synthesized from the network report and the official website statement of China Red Bull)