Guangzhou Pharmaceutical hits back at JDB accusation

Guangzhou Pharmaceutical Holdings hit back Thursday at JDB Group's claim that its herbal tea packaging infringed on JDB's trademark, the latest move in the ongoing dispute between the two major herbal tea producers.

JDB Group held a press conference Wednesday claiming that a considerable amount of Wong Lo Kat herbal tea products sold during the country's National Day holidays in October were found by local administrations for industry and commerce in Shandong, Liaoning and Zhejiang provinces to have infringed on JDB's trademark.

JDB said the packaging used by its rival had the words "Ji Xiang Shi Fen," meaning happy time, which has already been registered as a trademark by JDB.

In response to the claim, Guangzhou Pharmaceutical subsidiary Guangzhou Wang­laoji Large Health Industry Co said in a statement posted on its website Thursday that the infringement accusation is groundless.

"Ji Xiang Shi Fen" are commonly used words, the statement said, and were used simply for description and did not infringe on JDB's trademark.

The latest dispute came after continued rows between the two largest herbal tea producers in the country, which had previously battled for control of the Wong Lo Kat brand.

JDB lost its ownership of the Wong Lo Kat brand to Guangzhou Pharmaceutical Holdings in May, following a verdict in the dispute by the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission. In July, JDB's appeal against the ruling was rejected by Beijing No.1 Intermediate People's Court.

The two herbal tea firms have ramped up their competition in recent months, investing heavily in adverts in order to expand their share of the country's growing market for healthy herbal tea products, Zhao Yong, an industry analyst with Haitong Securities in Shenzhen, told the Global Times Thursday.