Forbes: The Shanghai No 2 Intermediate People's Court yesterday ordered two Chinese companies to pay more than 300,000 yuan in compensation to Hennessy Cognac for infringing the French company's trademark, the China Daily reported.

Zhuhai Xiangmutong Trading Co and Xiamen Golden Huanya Food Co, a bottling company, have been ordered to pay compensation, cease infringing the Hennessy trademark immediately and publish an apology in a local newspaper, Xinmin Evening News, the paper said.

The court heard that the two companies had been bottling and marketing a drink claiming to be a French cognac under the trademark Hanlissy.

The court found that the names Hanlissy and Hennessy are similar in appearance and pronunciation and this may confuse consumers.

December 1, 2005 by david burn | Permalink | 0 Comments