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China: Diageo wins whisky packaging piracy case
28 November, 2008
A drinks company in Shanghai, China, has been ordered to pay Diageo 1.25 million yuan ($183,000) for copying its packaging.
A drinks company in Shanghai, China, has been ordered to pay Diageo 1.25 million yuan ($183,000) for copying its packaging.
According to reports in China Daily, Blueblood Wine Co used packaging similar to Diageo’s Johnnie Walker Black Label, on a whisky called Polonius. In 2006, the company was fined but continued to use the packaging, so Diageo took legal action.
According to the paper, Black Label is sold in 150 cities around China, with a sales revenue of 320 million yuan a year. Blueblood is believed to have sold around 37,000 similarly packaged bottles.
Another 16 verdicts in intellectual property rights cases were decided in Shanghai courts this week and China has raised efforts to clean up piracy.
