Recently, two companies in Jiangsu province were sued for designing liquor bottles that resembled the architecture of China Zun, the tallest building in Beijing. The Beijing Chaoyang District Court ruled that the two companies must pay a compensation of 450,000 RMB to eliminate the impact.
The Chaoyang District Court in Beijing announced through its official WeChat account that a liquor producer and distributor had designed liquor bottles that imitated the China Zun building, even advertising near the building and selling on multiple e-commerce platforms, leading to a lawsuit filed by the owners of China Zun.
In the first-instance judgment of the case, the two defendant companies were found to have infringed upon the copyright of the China Zun building. They were ordered to cease infringement and compensate 450,000 RMB to mitigate the impact.
Located in the core area of the CBD in the Chaoyang District, China Zun is the tallest building in Beijing and has received numerous awards in the field of architecture.
The owners of China Zun, a certain investment company, discovered that two types of liquor named “Hezun Gold” and “Hezun Silver” appeared on billboards in the Beijing CBD area. The shape of the liquor bottles resembled the China Zun building and they were being sold on various e-commerce platforms.
The investment company of China Zun believed that the building constituted an architectural work in the sense of copyright law, with its abstract design being an artistic creation. As the copyright holder of both works, the company should be entitled to legal protection.
The company brought the two liquor companies to court, seeking compensation for economic losses of 1 million RMB, reasonable expenses of 500,000 RMB, and requesting the defendants to publicly eliminate the impact.
The liquor producer argued that the design of their liquor bottles was inspired by ancient Shang and Zhou dynasty bronze gu vessels, claiming it was an original design with significant differences from the China Zun building, thus not constituting substantial similarity.
The liquor distributor stated that they had no intention of infringing and promptly removed the two liquors from sale upon receiving the lawsuit.
However, the Chaoyang District Court held that China Zun, from its overall appearance to the detailed design elements, represented a unique artistic expression with creativity in both the exterior and interior, qualifying as an architectural work under copyright law.
The court concluded that the liquor bottles and the China Zun building constituted substantial similarity, and the actions of the defendants infringed upon the copyright of the plaintiff. The producer was found to have violated modification rights, reproduction rights, distribution rights, and internet transmission rights, while the distributor infringed upon distribution rights and internet transmission rights.
After reviewing the evidence, the court ruled that one liquor company and one distributor must immediately cease the infringement and compensate the plaintiff for economic losses of 300,000 RMB and reasonable expenses of 150,000 RMB.
Reportedly, the verdict is not yet final, and the case is still under further review.
According to mainland media reports, the liquor company involved is Jiangsu Huamo Liquor Industry, which released the “Hezun” packaged liquor in 2023.
As shown on the WeChat public account of Huaxi Group, Jiangsu Huamo Liquor Industry is a subsidiary of Huaxing Holdings Group, specializing in the liquor industry, having numerous chain stores and retail cooperation resources. It owns multiple proprietary and collaborative brands, establishing cooperative brands with Maotai and Wuliangye.