Facebook Wins Trademark Dispute Against Chinese Beverage Company in China

In late April 2016, the Beijing Higher People’s Court ruled in favour of social media giant Facebook following a trademark dispute involving Zhujiang Beverage, a Chinese beverage company.

In 2011, Zhujiang Beverage applied to register the trademark “face book” or “lian shu”, the Chinese translation, for its milk-flavored drinks and porridge. Facebook objected to the registration, but in 2014 China’s Trademark Review and Adjudication Board approved Zhujiang’s “face book” trademark.

The People’s Court held that the beverage makers had violated moral principles with an obvious intention to duplicate and copy a high-profile trademark. The People’s Court revoked the Board’s approval of the “face book” trademark and noted that regulators must revisit the decision.

Following the Court’s the decision Zhejiang argued that lian shu, intricate face masks, have a rich history of being used in Chinese traditional Operas.

Notably, although Facebook is global social media brand, it remains largely blocked in China.