An article with the Tripartite Agreement on the Assignment of the “Bullfighting” Trademark Owned by Two Jinhua-Based Companies (《关于转让金华“斗牛”注册商标的三方协议》) being presented on January 10 was posted on China.com. This newly emerged piece of evidence is bringing great uncertainty to the case Red Bull Vitamin Drink Co., Ltd. (红牛维他命饮料有限公司) v. T.C. Pharmaceutical Industries (天丝医药保健有限公司). The trademark dispute between the two parties has lasted into the eighth year.

In December 2020, China’s Supreme People’s Court ruled against Red Bull Vitamin Drink Co., Ltd. (RBVC), the China-based joint venture between Thailand-based T.C. Pharmaceutical Industries (TCP) and Chinese investment company Reignwood Group (华彬集团), over the ownership of the Red Bull trademark.

In the China.com post, the agreement was shown to be entered into by the Jinhua Bullfighting Amusement Center (金华斗牛游乐中心), the Jinhua Diary Industry Co., Ltd. (金华市乳品实业有限公司), and the Shenzhen Zhonghao (Group) Co., Ltd. (深圳中浩（集团）股份有限公司) in January 1996.

Shenzhen Zhonghao, a Chinese state-owned company, was engaged by Reignwood Group to become a shareholder of the joint venture RBVC, when TCP initially failed to register the bullfighting trademark in China.

Jinhua Bullfighting registered the bullfighting trademark, similar to the Red Bull trademark owned by TCP in graphic design, before the Thai company in China in 1994 as a Chinese state-owned company to host the annual bullfighting festival particular to Jinhua city, Zhejiang province. It assigned the right of the use of the trademark in relation to goods and products such as milk, tea, and juice classified under Class 32 to Jinhua Diary. Shenzhen Zhonghao approached the two Jinhua-based companies and signed the tripartite agreement on the assignment of the bullfighting trademark with them. With the sought-after trademark obtained for the Red Bull engergy drink, Shenzhen Zhonghao withdrew from the joint venture. 

The agreement seems to able to function as new evidence to aid in determining the ultimate ownership of the Red Bull trademark in China. It’s unclear whether any further legal action will be taken by RBVC.

More on the story: TCP wins lawsuit over Red Bull's signature gold can packaging