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Lafite case suggests better Chinese IP protection

Xinhua, April 23, 2016 Adjust font size:

An order for a Chinese wine company to pay damages to Chateau Lafite Rothschild for illegal use of its trademark led a compilation of case results detailed on Friday by a court in east China to show its success in prosecuting intellectual property infringements.

The court in Jinan, capital of Shandong Province, ordered Falaiya Wine Co. to pay 150,000 yuan (about 23,000 U.S. dollars) to Chateau Lafite Rothschild for selling 849 bottles of wine bearing the word "Lafite" on their labels but not produced by the world-famous Chateau.

All the cases in the compilation came from last year. While the others all concerned Chinese brands, the Lafite ruling will cheer foreign companies fearing rampant copycats in China.

Providing intellectual property protection is in place, big names like Chateau Lafite Rothschild are likely to be very keen on exploring the Chinese market.

In wine, for example, Euromonitor International has forecast consumption in China to grow 12-13 percent over the next five years.

Imported wine has a market share of about 10 percent in China, according to Euromonitor. Endi