Budweiser wins case

The Foshan Intermediate People's Court made the first judgment on a case in which Budweiser (Wuhan) Beer International Inc sued a beer company in Henan province for patent infringement and unfair competition.

The court ruled the defendant to stop manufacturing and selling the infringing products and compensate a total of 300,000 yuan to the plaintiff.

In the summer of 2006, tinned beer with the brand name of "Bailong Tongwei" appeared in more than 30 cities in China. The beer's package was similar to that of Budweiser beer in color and design. The words that mean Budweiser Beer International Group Co Ltd were also obvious on the packaging tin, which lead consumers to mistake it as a new Budweiser product. However, the beer was much cheaper than Budweiser beer.

Budweiser investigations indicated that the infringing beer was manufactured by a beer company in HenanProvince. In October 2007, Budweiser instituted a proceeding against the manufacturer of the infringing beer, the designer of the packaging and a distributor in Foshan. Budweiser requested the defendant stop the unfair competition, stop manufacturing and selling the infringing products and compensate a total of 1.5 million yuan.

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