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France's Danone to Pursue Case Against Wahaha in Higher Court |
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Tuesday, 05 August 2008 |
BEIJING: Danone SA will continue to pursue its case against Wahaha after calling into question a Chinese court's decision to reject its appeal of a ruling in favor of its local partner in a dispute over the ownership of the Wahaha trademark.
The two companies have been locked in a prolonged battle since Danone accused Wahaha of defrauding it by setting up its own companies to make products identical to those produced by their joint ventures and selling branded drinks without its permission.
Wahaha announced earlier that the Hangzhou Intermediate People's Court rejected Danone's appeal of a Chinese arbitration commission's ruling in favor of Wahaha.
Danone said it will now pursue the case in a higher court, claiming the ruling by Hangzhou Court did not include a thorough review of the arbitral procedures of the case, nor a review of the accuracy and legality of the determination of facts by the Hangzhou Arbitration Commission.
"Regrettably, the Hangzhou Court only carried out a procedural review for this case and rendered its ruling based on a procedural review only. With respect to this ruling, Danone will report to the appropriate superior judicial authorities in China," the French company said in a statement.
It added that Wahaha continues to breach a 1999 joint venture contract, which states the venture has the exclusive and irrevocable right to use and sub-license all Wahaha trademarks, by giving other companies the right to use the trademark.
"Without the permission of the board of the joint venture company, no company, including Hangzhou Wahaha Group, has any right to use any Wahaha trademarks," the statement said.
"Wahaha Group has given, and continues to give, numerous non-joint venture companies the right to use the Wahaha trademarks without proper legal authorization. This is a serious breach of contract and a clear infringement of the trademark license agreement," it said.
Danone added that Wahaha has not met its contractual obligation to transfer ownership of the Wahaha trademarks to the joint venture.
The long-running case has sparked a series of retaliatory lawsuits in China and abroad, including in the US and Sweden.
In its latest statement, Danone said it expects a Stockholm Chamber of Commerce tribunal to make a decision on Wahaha's failure to transfer ownership of trademarks to the joint venture.
Danone holds a 51 pct stake in 39 joint venture companies with Wahaha.
(C) 2008 Xinhua Financial News. All Rights Reserved |
