Is the Wahaha trademark going to be transferred? Wahaha Group: Transferred to a subsidiary, but registration and filing had not been completed due to historical disputes

Photo source: Visual China

Blue Whale News, February 12 (Reporter Zhang Jinglun)According to the official website of the Trademark Office of the State Intellectual Property Office, Hangzhou Wahaha Group Co., Ltd. is transferring the Wahaha trademark, and the application and receipt process has now ended. This incident has attracted widespread attention in the industry.

On February 12, Wahaha Group’s official Weibo issued a statement in response to the matter. Wahaha stated that when Hangzhou Wahaha Food Co., Ltd.(hereinafter referred to as the food company) was established, Hangzhou Wahaha Group Co., Ltd.(hereinafter referred to as the group company) used Wahaha series trademarks as investment to inject them into the food company. The investment was evaluated and obtained from the competent department at that time. Agreed, Wahaha series trademarks were also included as intangible assets under in-kind investment, and some trademarks were purchased by the food company from the group company through asset transfer. Based on this, the food company obtained ownership of the Wahaha series of trademarks, and the group company obtained 39% equity in the food company.

Wahaha stated that it was due to historical disputes between the group company and the foreign-funded company that the registration and filing of trademark transfer had not been completed, and it was not due to the prohibition of transfer stipulated in other laws and administrative regulations. ldquo; During the period when the Wahaha series of trademarks were registered under the name of the group company, the food company used it for long-term use as the actual owner of the trademark, and continued to authorize the group company and its related parties to use the Wahaha series of trademarks.

Wahaha emphasized that in the near future, in order to further improve the group company’s compliance operations, by sorting out the historical evolution of the group company and based on the provisions of the food company’s articles of association, the group company should fulfill its capital contribution obligations to the food company in accordance with the law and complete the registration of Wahaha series trademark transfers.

Photo source: Wahaha official Weibo

According to the official website of the Trademark Office of the State Intellectual Property Office, the approved goods/services for the Class 10th Wahaha trademark transferred this time include medical devices and instruments, milk bottles, physiotherapy equipment, etc. These categories are not Wahaha’s core products such as beverages and food.

However, Wahaha Group said in a statement that currently, a total of 387 Wahaha series trademarks are being applied for transfer from the group company to the food company by the State Intellectual Property Office.

It is worth mentioning that Wahaha Group has also encountered many challenges in trademark protection. What has to be mentioned is the famous Dawa dispute.

In 1996, Wahaha Group and Danone’s joint venture Hangzhou Wahaha Food Co., Ltd. signed a trademark transfer agreement, planning to transfer the Wahaha trademark to the joint venture company, but the agreement was not approved by the Trademark Office of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce. In 1999, the two parties negotiated and signed the “Trademark License Contract” to replace the original transfer agreement and license the trademark to the joint venture company. However, in 2006, Danone insisted that the 1996 “Transfer Agreement” had not been terminated and required the continued transfer of the trademark, which led to a lengthy dispute over Dawa. In the end, the two parties issued a settlement statement on September 30, 2009. Danone and Wahaha terminated their existing joint venture relationship, and Danone sold 51% of the equity in the joint venture company.