Two foreign apparel manufacturers are embroiled in a lawsuit to resolve a trademark dispute in China, some 20 years after the matter was originally supposed to have been settled.

Singapore Cartelo International and La Chemise Lacoste, well-known brands whose symbol and Chinese fonts are both a crocodile, are involved in a suit to decide which reptile is infringing on the other's territory.

The lawsuit lodged by Cartelo against the French firm Lacoste at Shanghai No 2 Intermediate People's Court will have a hearing by year-end. Cartelo claims that Lacoste violated its trademark with English-language characters of the crocodile and a figure of the animal. Cartelo has asked for one yuan (12.05 US cents) in compensation.

Lacoste, however, has also sued Cartelo and its domestic partners for trademark infringement in Beijing, asking for 500,000 yuan in compensation. The case was accepted last month.

Lacoste was established in the 1930s by French tennis legend Rene Lacoste, originally focusing on the European market. Cartelo was founded in 1947 in Singapore where it registered the crocodile figure and handwritten English characters in 1951.

When Lacoste expanded to Asia in the 1980s, it found Cartelo already had a significant market share using a similar logo. It then tried to stop Cartelo from using the reptile trademark.

After negotiations, "the two companies agreed to conclude all legal disputes and recognize each other in 1983. Cartelo allowed Lacoste to register its trademark in Asia, a crocodile with its head turning right. Cartelo's turns to the left," said Tan Hian Tsin, chairman of Singapore Cartelo International, at a Shanghai news briefing on Saturday.

"Lacoste also agreed to pay US$1.5 million over 10 years as a compensation and defense fee for Cartelo to settle previous disputes," he said.

However, now as both companies expand aggressively in China - the world's largest apparel market - it appears as if the deal will have to be renegotiated.

Close

Today's Top News		Top Business News
+Diplomats push for new 6-party talks ( 2003-11-10) +More areas progress in HIV/AIDS battle ( 2003-11-10) +Olympic venues get owners ( 2003-11-10) +Economists see rapid growth for two decades ( 2003-11-10) +Fire martyrs honoured at memorial ( 2003-11-10)		+Crocodile trademark at issue in courts ( 2003-11-10) +China official reaffirms proactive fiscal policy -Xinhua ( 2003-11-10) +China sees more industrial growth ( 2003-11-10) +Limited impact from rebate cuts ( 2003-11-10) +Steady economic growth forecast ( 2003-11-10)