-01- Mengniu Invests 745 Million Yuan in Miaokeland, Becoming a Major Shareholder of the First Cheese Stock On January 6, Miaokeland announced a strategic agreement with Mengniu, whereby Mengniu acquired 5% of the listed company Miaokeland for 287 million yuan, and 42.9% of Jilin Technology, a subsidiary holding almost all of the listed company's production capacity assets, for 458 million yuan. The total investment was 745 million yuan. In recent years, Miaokeland has been a rapidly developing star dairy enterprise. With its high-quality products, it has gradually grown into a leading brand in China's cheese industry. According to financial reports, Miaokeland achieved revenue of 1.226 billion yuan in 2018, a year-on-year increase of 24.82%; net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company was 10.6406 million yuan, up 148.69% year-on-year. Regarding why Mengniu invested in Miaokeland, New Distribution had previously published an article stating: Cheese is becoming the next growth point for dairy companies. Reviewing the 2018 financial reports of Mengniu and Yili, both dairy giants have increased their focus on the cheese market and established independent "cheese business divisions." In September 2019, Mengniu transferred Song Jidong, who had led the常温事业部市场管理中心 (Room Temperature Business Unit Market Management Center) and managed the star products Telunsu and Chunzhen, to serve as General Manager of the Cheese Business Division. This clearly shows Mengniu's high regard for the cheese business. According to an industry insider who spoke on condition of anonymity, this cooperation is a win-win situation: On one hand, it directly helps Mengniu expand into the high-end cheese category; on the other hand, Miaokeland can leverage Mengniu's channels to penetrate all channels.
-02- Final Verdict: 'Jiangxiaobai' Wins Lawsuit Yesterday, the long-awaited trademark dispute between Chongqing Jiangxiaobai Liquor Co., Ltd. (hereinafter "Jiangxiaobai Company") and Chongqing Jiangjin Distillery (Group) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter "Jiangjin Distillery") over the "Jiangxiaobai" trademark reached a conclusion—the Supreme People's Court made a final ruling that the "Jiangxiaobai" trademark belongs to Jiangxiaobai Company. The Supreme People's Court held that before the application date of the disputed trademark, the "Jiangxiaobai" trademark was not a trademark of Jiangjin Distillery. According to the customized product sales contract, Jiangjin Distillery did not enjoy intellectual property rights over the product concepts, advertising slogans, etc. of customized products other than its registered trademark "Jijiang". The application for registration of the disputed trademark by Xinlantu Company did not infringe upon the legitimate rights and interests of Jiangjin Distillery, nor did it violate Article 15 of the 2001 Trademark Law. Industry media Liquor Times reported that during the seven-year "Jiangxiaobai" trademark dispute, many enterprises in the industry have supported Jiangxiaobai, believing that entrepreneurship is not easy. Yang Lingjiang, founder of liquor O2O platform 1919, and Hao Hongfeng, chairman of Jiuxian.com, both publicly called for support on their social media. Now the final judgment declares that 'Jiangxiaobai is still Jiangxiaobai', providing a strong legal basis for Jiangxiaobai's future development. However, this also reminds the industry that while doing well in product and marketing, trademark protection should also be strengthened.
-03- Chengde Lulu Trademark Dispute Final Appeal Rejected; Will Continue to Appeal On January 5, Hebei Chengde Lulu disclosed the second-instance judgment in its trademark dispute with Shantou High-tech Zone Lulu South Co., Ltd. (hereinafter "Shantou Lulu"). They stated that the second-instance court rejected Chengde Lulu's appeal and upheld the original judgment in the case where Shantou Lulu sued Chengde Lulu and other defendants over a trademark licensing contract dispute. On January 6, Chengde Lulu said in an interview with media that to protect the company's core intellectual property, the company will apply to the people's court for retrial in accordance with the law. On the same day, Chen Wen, General Manager of Shantou Lulu, responded that the case result has been announced, and the company will release a detailed statement later on the official account "Southern Lulu".
-04- Beijing High Court Final Appeal Rejected; Application for Compulsory Liquidation of China Red Bull Dismissed China Red Bull announced on the evening of January 5 that the Beijing Higher People's Court's Civil Ruling (2019) Jing Qing Zhong No. 4 rejected the Thai side's (Thai Red Bull and Inter-Biotech) application for compulsory liquidation of China Red Bull, upholding the Civil Ruling of the Beijing First Intermediate People's Court (2019) Jing 01 Qing Shen No. 3 that the application was not accepted. This ruling is final and has legal effect. China Red Bull stated in the announcement that judicial authorities, through rigorous legal procedures and comprehensive evidence, confirmed the basic fact of the company's legal existence; during the reasonable period for changing statutory licenses, all its production and operation rights are protected by law. In fact, the trademark dispute between Thai Tiansi and Huabin Group over Red Bull has a long history. Since 2014, the two sides have had constant friction. With the expiration of China Red Bull's business license registration period, the two sides have launched a fierce battle. In addition to verbal disputes and lawsuits, Huabin Group and Thai Tiansi have extended the battle to the market level, each cultivating their own backup products. This move can not only seize market share but also serve as a fallback in case of litigation failure. Huabin Group began launching the functional beverage Zhanma in 2016. Annual report data shows that in the first half of 2019, Zhanma sales reached 830 million yuan, already matching the full-year sales of 2018, a year-on-year increase of 47%. Thai Tiansi also launched the functional beverage Red Bull Anaji in 2019 and recently announced the introduction of a batch of original imported Red Bull products into the domestic market. The verbal disputes, proactive lawsuits, and launch of backup products by Thai Tiansi and Huabin Group are interpreted by industry insiders as a manifestation of both sides seeking bargaining chips. In fact, both sides have been racking their brains to expand their advantages from multiple levels. Food industry analyst Zhu Danpeng frankly stated, At present, both sides are gradually increasing their chips. It is expected that the Red Bull trademark dispute will be difficult to conclude within three years, and the root cause is insufficient evidence on both sides. He believes that since both sides cannot provide more evidence, in the long run, the best outcome is to renegotiate. In fact, the current confrontation between the two sides is likely to gain more chips and initiative for future negotiations.
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