On the morning of April 23, a verdict regarding "China's Red Bull is banned from production and sales" attracted everyone's attention, and related hot searches also topped the list.

Regarding the news circulating on the Internet, China Red Bull immediately stood up and issued a statement: It is fake, don’t believe it! In response to the first-instance judgment of the Heilongjiang High Court released by Tencel on April 23, China Red Bull issued a statement on the 25th saying that since 2016, Thai Tencel has initiated lawsuits against China Red Bull and its industry chain partners in many places. Heilongjiang High Court Judgment No. 12, like other first-instance judgments, is not an effective judgment and has no res judicata or enforceability.

And China Red Bull emphasized that the "50-year Agreement" clearly stipulates that China Red Bull has the exclusive right to produce and sell Red Bull beverages in China for 50 years, and this right must include the right to use the trademark. According to the agreement, Thai Tencel has no right to operate Red Bull beverages in China, and it has neither the right nor the necessity to use the Red Bull trademark in China. China Red Bull said it had found the original copy of the "50-year agreement" and pushed for a retrial by the Supreme Court.

Later, in response to the receipt of the judgment by Tencel Company, on April 23, a reporter from the People’s Daily Health Client called China Red Bull. The staff told the reporter that China Red Bull is still producing and selling normally, regardless of whether Both consumers and merchants can purchase China Red Bull normally. The reporter also found that on Taobao and multiple online sales platforms, only a few stores are still selling Red Bull Vitamin Functional Drink (i.e., China Red Bull). The staff of China Red Bull said that online sales channels are under negotiation, and China Red Bull can still be purchased in offline supermarkets.

Now, follow me to understand the general story of the matter, so that it is easier to understand:

In 1984, Yan Bin, chairman of Reignwood Group, founded Reignwood Group in Thailand. In 1995, Xu Shubiao, the developer of Red Bull beverage and founder of TCP Group, awarded the operating rights of TCP Red Bull in China to Yan Bin, the founder of Reignwood Group. After Xu Shubiao passed away in 2012, his son Xu Xinxiong took over the Tencel Company. Later, in 2016, he took over several companies under the Reignwood Group on the grounds of "infringement of exclusive rights to registered trademarks" and "unfair competition." Factories, as well as sales companies and even dealers, went to court.

Since 2016, "Reignwood Red Bull" owned by Reignwood Group and Tencel Company from Thailand have been involved in a "tug of war" in litigation over the "Red Bull" trademark licensing cooperation period.

Tencel Company believes that the cooperation period between the two parties is 20 years. “Multiple “Trademark License Contracts” filed with the Trademark Office indicate that Tencel Company’s trademark license period for the joint venture company is until October 6, 2016. Stop.” Based on this, Tencel required the factories under the Reignwood Group not to use the “Red Bull” trademark and asked them to compensate for economic losses. China Red Bull Reignwood stated that Xu Shubiao signed a "50-year agreement" when he was still alive. The first one stipulates that only China Red Bull has the right to produce and sell Red Bull beverages in China. Article 7 states that the agreement is valid for 50 years.

Having said that, you must know that Red Bull is a functional drink. In China, there are many drivers, just like many of my self-driving friends, they all have 2 to 3 boxes of spare in the car, too. It has been the No. 1 functional drink in the Chinese market for 20 years.

Then the question is, if Red Bull is banned from production and sale, does it mean that Red Bull cannot be bought in our country? Are Chinese people no longer able to drink Red Bull drinks?

My personal opinion may not be correct. I think, from a common sense point of view, the plaintiff and the defendant were originally in a cooperative relationship, but they only had disputes over the cooperation period. The focus of the dispute was whether the cooperation period was 20 years or 50 years. Therefore, "Red Bull" should not disappear in China. If it really loses the lawsuit, it may only disappear in the packaging pattern or style. Who knows!

No matter what, the current trademark dispute of China Red Bull has become a long-term issue, involving many market entities and significant interests. We really need to communicate and negotiate more extensively with all parties to find a fair and reasonable solution.