JDB appeals Wong Lo Kat ruling

Hong Kong-based JDB Group announced Sunday that it has filed an appeal to a Beijing court against an earlier ruling on the company's right to use the Wong Lo Kat brand, the latest effort believed to buy some time for JDB to promote its new herbal tea brand.

JDB Group said it disagrees with the ruling made on May 9 by the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission which states that JDB was not authorized to use the Wong Lo Kat brand after 2010.

"We have submitted the application for revoking the ruling to the First Intermediate People's Court of Beijing, and the court has registered the case," reads JDB's statement.

According to China's Arbitration Law, Guangzhou Pharmaceutical Holdings, which recently regained the Wong Lo Kat trademark, now cannot implement the arbitration commission's ruling in its favor until the Beijing court makes a verdict in the case.

Ni Yidong, a spokesman for Guangzhou Pharmaceutical, refused to comment when contacted by the Global Times Sunday, but said the company would hold a press conference today about the issue.

"Although the chance of JDB winning the case seems slim, such a move can catch people's attention and buy some time for JDB to gain consumers' recognition for its new herbal tea brand," Zhao Yong, an analyst with Haitong Securities, told the Global Times Sunday.

After losing the trademark dispute, JDB announced that it would sell herbal tea under Jiaduobao brand in the future.

Zhao said that as the legal dispute continues, more consumers will recognize the Jiaduobao brand, which is favorable for JDB.

However, since some Wong Lo Kat products by JDB are still in the market, Guangzhou Pharmaceutical announced Friday that those products are "infringing goods", and "the group reserves the right to pursue legal liability for infringement".

"But the endless fighting will cause some damage to both companies," Zhao noted.

In 1997, the Guangzhou-based company granted JDB the right to use its Wong Lo Kat trademark until 2010. Following two extensions of the agreement, JDB was allowed to use the trademark until 2020.

Under the management of JDB, the value of Wong Lo Kat brand has reached 100 billion yuan ($15.76 billion), according to the Beijing Famous Brand Evaluation Co.

The Guangzhou-based company filed a complaint with the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission in 2011, saying that trademark agreement between the two companies was extended from 2010 to 2020 because one of its senior executives was taking bribes from JDB's parent company.

The company also said that 5 million yuan ($792,430) was not a fair price for JDB to pay for the trademark each year.