Claiming that the high-profile promotion of 'Meng Fei Xiao Niang' as brewed by Meng Fei himself infringed on its rights, the former contract brewer, Nanjing Gao Master Brewing Co., Ltd., sued the operator and owner of 'Meng Fei Xiao Niang' beer, along with a total of six defendants, for unfair competition. The case was heard in public at Chaoyang Court on the morning of the 13th.

Plaintiff: After changing 'R&D team', nine unfair practices alleged Nanjing Gao Master Brewing Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Gao Master) claimed that it is a leading enterprise in China's craft beer industry with excellent reputation worldwide. Host Meng Fei invited the company to directly bottle its 'Baby Fat' craft beer (a brand produced by Gao Master) as 'Meng Fei Xiao Niang' beer, with Nanjing Xingya Catering Management Co., Ltd. as the commissioning party.

According to previous media reports, the cooperation between the two parties lasted one year and ended on August 10, 2016. Subsequently, 'Meng Fei Xiao Niang' changed its 'R&D team' and adopted new packaging.

In the lawsuit, Gao Master alleged that the six defendants engaged in nine types of unfair competition, including: during the cooperation period, 'Meng Fei Xiao Niang' was highly promoted as beer brewed by Meng Fei himself; after the termination of the cooperation, 'Meng Fei Xiao Niang' prominently promoted 'new packaging, old taste', maliciously attaching itself to the high quality of Gao Master's craft beer; and Meng Fei maliciously disparaged Gao Yan (legal representative of Gao Master) on Guo Degang's Weibo, damaging Gao Master's goodwill.

Additionally, Gao Master believed that the developers of the new version of 'Meng Fei Xiao Niang' claimed that 'each can of beer takes about one month to brew', which not only violates common sense of craft beer but also constitutes false advertising.

Therefore, Gao Master sued the operator of 'Meng Fei Xiao Niang' products, Xingya Catering Management (Beijing) Co., Ltd., Nanjing Xiaomian Zhijiao Catering Management Co., Ltd. Beijing Chaoyang District Sanlitun Branch, Nanjing Xingya Catering Management Co., Ltd., Nanjing Xiaomian Zhijiao Catering Management Co., Ltd., Nanjing Xiaofa Xiaomian Enterprise Management Partnership (Limited Partnership), and the actual controller of the company, Meng Fei, demanding cessation of the alleged unfair competition, issuance of public apology and clarification statements, and compensation for economic losses of 3 million yuan and reasonable expenses of over 140,000 yuan.

Defendants: 'Old taste' is not 'old recipe', unrelated to Gao Master The defense lawyers for the six defendants argued that Meng Fei is not a proper defendant in this case. 'Meng Fei is a natural person, and the subject of unfair competition should be a commercial entity.'

Regarding Gao Master's claim that 'Meng Fei maliciously disparaged Gao Yan on Guo Degang's Weibo', the agent argued that this is not a commercial act but a civil act between natural persons, and Gao Yan has already filed a lawsuit for infringement of reputation rights.

Regarding Gao Master's allegations of false advertising and unfair competition related to 'self-brewed' and 'old taste', the agent stated, 'Nanjing Xingya Catering Management Co., Ltd. signed a contract processing agreement with Gao Master, which stipulated that Gao Master should brew according to instructions and specifications.' The agent argued that since the agreement stipulated brewing according to the commission agreement, it can naturally be considered as self-brewing.

The agent pointed out that the 'old taste' in advertising refers to the new version of 'Meng Fei Xiao Niang' still being craft beer, which has nothing to do with Gao Master. At the same time, from the meaning of the words and evidence, 'old taste' is not 'old recipe', and even if it were the old recipe, it is not 'Baby Fat'.

Additionally, the agent pointed out that the sales venues for 'Meng Fei Xiao Niang' are very special, limited to 'Meng Fei's Noodles' shops, and the target customers are limited to Meng Fei's fans. Meng Fei's statement to fans, 'Drink self-brewed wine, this is the real life', is an expression of attitude towards his fan base and is not closely related to unfair competition.

As of the time of reporting, the trial was still ongoing.

Source: Legal Evening News -END-