Source: Legal Evening News, Commentary by Nalan Zuotian Yesterday morning, another infringement lawsuit between Wang Laoji and JDB opened in Daxing Court. Plaintiff Guangzhou Pharmaceutical Holdings Limited (GPGL) sued JDB (China) Beverage Company, alleging that its product's appearance is not substantially different from Wang Laoji's well-known product's distinctive packaging, which could mislead the public, and sought 300 million yuan in damages. Previously, Wang Laoji and JDB have been involved in over 15 lawsuits over trademark infringement, unauthorized use of distinctive packaging, false advertising, and unfair competition, with total claims reaching 3 billion yuan. Notable cases include the "Wang Laoji renamed JDB" case, the false advertising case over "7 out of 10 cans of herbal tea sold are JDB," and the "Red Can Case," known as China's first packaging case. Most cases ended with Wang Laoji winning, while a few are still pending. Wang Laoji: JDB Packaging Infringement, Claims 300 Million Guangzhou Pharmaceutical Holdings Limited sued JDB (China) Beverage Company, demanding it stop infringement, eliminate impact, and pay over 300 million yuan in economic damages. GPGL claims it is the owner of the distinctive packaging of the well-known "Wang Laoji" herbal tea, which features a red background with three vertical yellow regular script characters "王老吉" in the center, along with auxiliary text and images. From 1995 to 2010, GPGL and its predecessors licensed the trademark No. 626155 "Wang Laoji" scroll to Hong Kong Hung Dao Group for producing Wang Laoji herbal tea. After a dispute over the licensing contract, GPGL took back the trademark. GPGL argues that the packaging on "Wang Laoji" herbal tea is unique to the product. JDB (China) Beverage Company, without permission, began producing and selling herbal tea labeled "JDB" starting in June 2012, with packaging that is visually not substantially different from Wang Laoji's, which could cause public confusion about the source of the product. GPGL claims that the substantial goodwill of "Wang Laoji" herbal tea and its distinctive packaging has been severely damaged by the defendant's continuous unfair competition, so it demands the defendant stop infringement and pay 300 million yuan in economic damages plus 1 million yuan in reasonable expenses for rights protection, and also demands the defendant issue statements on CCTV and other media and its official website to clarify facts and eliminate impact. It is understood that JDB has six companies, including Guangdong JDB Beverage Food Co., Ltd., JDB (China) Beverage Co., Ltd., Zhejiang JDB Beverage Co., Ltd., Fujian JDB Beverage Co., Ltd., Wuhan JDB Beverage Co., Ltd., and Hangzhou JDB Beverage Co., Ltd. The defendant in today's case is JDB (China) Beverage Co., Ltd. Defendant: No Infringement The defendant, JDB, believes the plaintiff's claims lack factual and legal basis and should be dismissed. The defendant stated that the well-known product claimed by the plaintiff is Wang Laoji herbal tea, but according to the defendant, before the end of 2011, the only red-can herbal tea product on the market was produced by JDB. "The plaintiff and its subsidiaries have admitted in multiple cases that their red-can herbal tea and the defendant's are different products." "This clearly shows that the well-known product claimed by the plaintiff is not produced by the plaintiff or its subsidiaries. Therefore, the plaintiff's claims should be directly dismissed," said the defendant's representative. The defendant argued that under current law, the recognition of a well-known product does not require the trademark to be famous or well-known. Trademark rights and packaging rights are independent rights and do not have to be used together. The plaintiff's claims are based on its trademark rights and are unrelated to the packaging rights in this case. Our company's use of the red-can product is lawful and does not constitute infringement. "The plaintiff has not proven that the defendant's use of the red-can product caused any loss, nor has it explained how the loss was calculated." The defendant believes it has not infringed the plaintiff's trademark rights, nor has it used the plaintiff's trademark for commercial promotion or profit, so it should not pay compensation or issue a public apology. Defendant's Request to Suspend Trial Rejected The defendant argued that this case should be based on the results of two previous cases in Guangzhou Intermediate Court, known as the "Red Can Dispute," which have been appealed to the Supreme Court and are still pending. The defendant believed this case should be suspended. Regarding the defendant's request for suspension, the judge stated that the parties had been informed before the hearing whether to suspend, and today's hearing reiterated that after deliberation, the collegial panel found that this case does not fall under the legal circumstances for suspension, so the defendant's request was not in line with legal provisions. Nalan Zuotian's Commentary: When Getting Something for Nothing Becomes Reality, Why Should Others Do Marketing? Wang Laoji has done three marketing activities this year. First, the "Fu Lu Shou Xi" campaign, which focused on being cute but called itself "Uncle Ji," causing a disconnect with the post-90s generation. Then, the web drama "The Lost Tomb" was overshadowed by the movie "Ghost Blows Out the Light." Finally, the sponsored movie "Surprise" scored below 6.1 and lost to "Mojin: The Lost Legend" released in the same period. Wang Laoji found that it cannot surpass not only JDB but also "Ghost Blows Out the Light." Rather than being trapped by such marketing, it is safer to sue. Marketing has risks; entering requires caution. Out of every ten lawsuits won nationwide, seven are won by Wang Laoji. A victory triggers a chain reaction of domino effects. One successful "hit-and-run" leads to endless claims. It says it represents justice, it says it represents fairness, it says it represents the spirit of contract, but it won't say it represents marketing, because that question is too difficult for it to answer. Why can't JDB sell as cheaply as Wang Laoji? Why can Wang Laoji offer 45 or 50 free cases for every 100 cases? Because its profits mainly come from claims against JDB, while JDB wants to build the herbal tea category to last a hundred years. JDB is thinking too much. You love herbal tea, you fear this century-old culture will be broken, you love herbal tea, but who loves you? On December 12, 2015, at the 2015 China Brand Value Evaluation Information Release event in Beijing, neither JDB nor Wang Laoji made the list. The top beverage company was Wahaha with a brand value of 50 billion yuan, far lower than Wang Laoji's self-estimated 108 billion yuan. Yet even such a "awesome" Wang Laoji didn't make the list, which is a slap in the face. What is the future of herbal tea, a product that claims to beat cola? We don't mourn the decline of a category, nor the fall of two brands, because every day many brands die and many are born. We mourn that an excellent company and a vivid marketing case will only live in textbooks in the future. People will point at the three characters "加多宝" and say: It could have created a category, but it couldn't win a lawsuit, and finally died in non-marketing competition. Sad, lamentable. In the future, counterfeit goods and low prices will destroy all marketing ideas, but for consumers, there is not much loss. It's just that when one brand falls, we switch to another. It's just that in difficult times, we lose a company that is enthusiastic about public welfare. We welcome colleagues from Guangzhou Pharmaceutical to follow us and challenge us. -END- Content Selection Reply with the following keywords to search and read related articles: Sales Supervisor, Second-tier Management, Regional Manager, Distributor Management, New Channels, City Manager, Competition, 2015, Manufacturer-Dealer Game, Product Slow Sales, Terminal Visit Management, Route Management, Deep Distribution, Internal Management, Sales Skills, Profit Improvement, Recruitment, Distribution, Daily Management, Team Motivation, Trade Promotion, Sales Misconceptions, New Product Launch, Township Market, New Product Pricing, Sales Target Achievement, Closing Deals, Market Visit and Inspection, Baijiu, Beer, Sales Increase, Agency Products, Channel Crossing, KA, Terminal Merchandising, New Market, Market Operation, Learning, Book Recommendations, Inventory Management, New Salespeople, Consumer Promotion, Execution, Old Products, Expired Product Handling, Model Market, Investment Promotion, New Media, Distributor Development, Performance Appraisal, Assessment, Annual Planning, Shopping Guide, Morning Meeting, Display, Transformation, Stock Pressure, Holidays, Distributor Cost Control, Channel Operation, Marketing Theory and Laws, Brand Truth, Order Meeting, Team Management, Training, Work Report, Work Report.