Languiren, which means "Blue Lady", is a household name for green tea products in South China's Hainan province. But in the past, the name always puzzled consumers.

Lin Mingjuan, a traveler to Haikou, provincial capital of Hainan, was confused when she chose presents for her family. "I find the Languiren name is the trademark in bottles of tea products, but almost on the same shelf, it also appears as the name of a kind of tea products," Lin told a local newspaper.

Recently, the "Blue Lady" gave rise to a trademark infringement lawsuit involving Hainan's tea makers.

Seven years ago, Wanchang Tea Plant, a tea maker in Chengmai county of Hainan province, registered Languiren as its product trademark, announcing that Languiren tea was the company's original product. In 2003, the Trademark Administration Office under the State Administration for Industry and Commerce approved Wanchang's registration.

But at the end of 2003, the Tea Association of Hainan province, led by 10 local tea makers, demanded that Wanchang repeal the Languiren trademark, as the name had been used for green tea products in the domestic market for over 10 years.

Since then, legal action between Wanchang and the 10 tea makers has been ongoing.

Wanchang Tea Plant, the plaintiff, announced that the name Languiren has no record in China's tea industry, especially in the country's most authoritative "China Tea Dictionary".

"After self-innovation, we developed the kind of green tea in 1999 and named Languiren for showing the elegant taste of our products," said Xiao Yufang, chairman of Wanchang Tea Plant.

Xiao added that the company legally registered the trademark seven years ago.

In response, the country's leading tea-related organization, China Tea Association, together with local tea makers and some tea associations from Fujian, Yunnan and Guangdong provinces, jointly testified about the history of the name Languiren.)

According to Chen Ting, an expert from China Tea Association, since the early 1990s, Languiren green tea was planted in Fujian, Guangdong, Yunnan, Hainan provinces and Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

"So far, the Languiren tea can reach over 1 billion yuan of market share in China," Chen said.

However, Wanchang's action for registering the general name of Languiren as its trademark would form monopolization in the tea market, and deeply affected other makers in the Languiren tea industry, Chen added.

Early this year, Beijing No 1 Intermediate People's Court finally pronounced the judgment in the lawsuit: Wanchang was required to repeal ownership of the Languiren trademark.

Chen Hua, the case judge from Hainan's Intermediate People's Court, said after several months of research, the court confirmed that the name of Languiren was a general name for a kind of tea product.

In addition, Languiren was only a civilian name, but was not approved legally. So Wanchang's action for registering the name as brand was not the infringing action.

Trademark

"To keep a healthier business environment in the ))domestic tea market, trademark administers should soon repeal the trademark," Chen said.

However, in response to the ruling, Wanchang Tea Plant recently brought a new accusation against China Tea Association in Shanghai Longhua District People's Court, claiming that the association's testimony in the previous lawsuit was wrong.

Responding to the new lawsuit, China Tea Association announced that as a national association in the tea industry, it has the responsibility and right to testify to the situation about Languiren tea product. However, Wanchang, as a local tea maker, should not have the right to judge the problem.

So far, the Shanghai Longhua District People's Court has not made a final judgment in the new lawsuit. But according to Gui Qingkai, the lawyer representing the China Tea Association, Wanchang was not within its legal rights to bring two lawsuits over the same problem.

An expert, surnamed Wang, from the Tea Association in Hainan province told China Business Weekly that Wanchang's registration of a general name as its brand name was not a unique case in China's tea market.

According to Wang, Zhuyeqing (which means green bamboo leaf), a kind of green tea product, was also registered as a company name.

The brand of a company always plays an important role in business competition, Wang said.

"Notwithstanding, it is a smart choice for using a brand similar to the well-known or a general brand in the market for the short-term. Sooner or later, it will inevitably be lost in the market in the longer term," he added.

Wang Lin, a professor at Hainan University, said that in recent years many businessmen misapplied the original function of trademarks, resulting in intellectual property right violation lawsuits.

"For a company, the brand and the trademark are necessary and significant in distinguishing with other companies in the market. But more businessmen only used the brand and trademark as 'weapons' in expanding their market shares and profits," Wang said.

In addition, trademark administrators should also enhance the awareness of intellectual property rights when approving a brand and a trademark. And a growing number of trademark infringement cases are happening in the country's tea market.

"The mistakes in approving a trademark or a brand would undoubtedly affect the businessmen, the market and consumers," added Wang.

(China Daily 04/13/2009 page11)