Treasury Wine Estates (TWE) has won the right to use the trademark “Ben Fu”, a transliteration of the word Penfolds, for use in China.
As Reuters reports, an individual in China had registered the trade mark in 2009. However, Beijing High People’s Court has now found that this person did not have any genuine use for the trademark in the wine industry or for related activities.
“This trademark will subsequently be cancelled, allowing for TWE to claim its right to ownership of the Ben Fu trademark registration and to freely use this trademark across China,” TWE said in a statement.
Treasury Wine’s managing director for Asia and Europe, Robert Foye welcomed the decision.
“Ben Fu is the most widely recognised wine brand in China,” Foye said.
“We have never wavered in our commitment to defend our position as the rightful owner of the Ben Fu trademark in China, and we are absolutely thrilled with this decision.”