Image: @jayinshanghai/X
Tesla wins lawsuit over trademark infringement of “Tesla Beer.” On August 10, the company's representative office in China announced the results of the decision in favor of Tesla.
On Thursday, Tesla China announced the outcome of a trademark infringement case filed by the company against Tesla Beer. The Court recognized Tesla’s series of trademarks as well-known trademarks. It ordered the defendant, Zhongyin Food Co., Ltd. manufacturer of “Tesla Beer” to immediately stop infringing the exclusive rights to a number of Tesla trademarks and stop unfair competition. In addition, the company must compensate Tesla ¥5 million ($690,000) and issue a public statement in newspapers to deal with the consequences. The illegitimate Tesla Beer maker filed an appeal and a second instance court to challenge the decision, but the court upheld the original decision.
Starting in 2019, a series of alcoholic beverages under the names “Tesla Soda” and “Tesla Beer” have been circulating on the market. The trademark has a T-shaped logo characteristic of the Texas manufacturer. In addition, promotional materials often contained phrases such as “Tesla Motors,” “the pioneer brand of pre-mixed drinks in America” and “an internationally top-notch brand,” according to Pandaily. Some of the promotional images even feature a Tesla Model X.
After discovering the trademark's brazen use, Tesla filed a lawsuit against the company. The court recognized the trademark of the Tesla series as a “well-known trademark.” Thus, the actions of “Tesla Beer” were considered improper use of Tesla's established reputation for market competition. The reuse of vehicles and the Tesla name in advertising to mislead consumers was considered subjective malice and constituted trademark infringement.
© 2023, Eva Fox | Tesmanian. All rights reserved.
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Article edited by @SmokeyShorts; follow him on Twitter
About the Author
Eva Fox
Eva Fox joined Tesmanian in 2019 to cover breaking news as an automotive journalist. The main topics that she covers are clean energy and electric vehicles. As a journalist, Eva is specialized in Tesla and topics related to the work and development of the company.
