Facebook wins trademark dispute in China
A Chinese court has ruled in favour of Facebook in a trademark dispute centring on the transliteration of the term ‘face book’.
The Beijing Higher People’s Court backed the social media website in its dispute with Zhujiang Beverage, based in Zhongshan.
Zhujiang sells products including milk-flavoured drinks and porridge.
It has owned a registered trademark for the term ‘lian shu’ (‘face book’), in China since 2011 covering classes including teas, drinks and sweets.
The company faced opposition from Facebook, but the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board approved the mark in 2014.
Facebook then took its case to the court which, in a ruling handed down at the end of last month, backed its claim.
The ruling comes despite the fact that Facebook is blocked in China.
Last week, WIPR reported that Apple had suffered a trademark blow in China after the Beijing Municipal High People’s Court ruled against the US-based smartphone maker in its dispute with Xintong Tiandi Technology over the ‘iPhone’ trademark.
