David Eimar reports for The Independent about the much anticipated Supreme People’s Court ruling next month between Montresor’s Tresor Dore and Ferrero Rocher. Eimar points out a salient aspect of the case:
“Tresor Dore, a popular Chinese brand of chocolates wrapped in gold-coloured paper and presented in the same heart-shaped box as Ferrero Rocher’s confectionery, is commonly handed out at government functions.“
November 2005 Tianjin Second Intermediate People’s Court ruled that Montresor’s Tresor Dore chocolates did not counterfeit Ferrero Rocher’s chocolates, because according to the Tianjin Second Intermediate People’s Court Tresor Dore was better known in China.
Ferrero appealed and in January 2006 the Tianjin Higher People’s Court ruled that Montresor was ordered to pay 700.000 yuan to Ferrero because of counterfeiting, read more here.
Montresor was not amused and went to the Supreme People’s Court in Beijing, who is deciding in January 2007 whether Montresor’s Tresor Dore are counterfeit products.
Eimar notices that the timing of the judgment is crucial: “18 February is the start of the Chinese New Year holiday when chocolate sales traditionally boom. Gold-wrapped confectionery is particularly popular because gold is associated with prosperity.“
Read Eimar’s article here.
