Chinese firms ordered to compensate French Hennessy cognac over trademark infringement

Two Chinese firms have been ordered to pay 300,000 yuan (37,500 US dollars) to the world-renowned French cognac producer Hennessy for trademark infringement, a Shanghai court has said.

The Zhuhai Xiangmutong Trading Co. in south China's Guangdong Province and its bottling agency, the Xiamen Jinhuanya Food Co.in east China's Fujian Province were also ordered to print an apology in a local newspaper, the Xinmin Evening News, according to the Shanghai No. 2 Intermediate People's Court.

The court ruled last Tuesday that the two Chinese companies infringed upon the trademark of "Hennessy" by selling their own cognac under the name "Hanlissy."

The court ruled that the Chinese company used an English font to spell "Hanlissy" that was similar to "Hennessy" and the two names have similar pronunciation and this could easily cause confusion among consumers.

Societe Jas Hennessy, which registered its trademark in China in 1980, found wine products that claimed to be French cognac brandy and used "Hanlissy" on the packaging, bottle and label were being sold at French retailer Carrefour in July, 2004.

Xiangmutong, the Hanlissy wine distributor founded in 2002, applied for the "Hanlissy" trademark in June 2003 and got approval from the State Trademark Office in June 2004.

However, Hennessy applied to the office last year to have the registration revoked.

Hennessy took the two Chinese companies to court in March this year, seeking compensation of 500,000 yuan (62,500 US dollars).

Source: Xinhua