(Yicai Global) Dec. 30 -- Red Bull China said a court in Guangdong province has ruled that it has the right to exclusively produce and sell Red Bull brand beverages in China, rekindling a dispute with Thailand TCP Group in litigation over their cooperation deal, which has been unresolved since 2016.

According to yesterday’s statement, the judgment affirmed the legality of Red Bull China’s exclusive operation of Red Bull beverages in China for 50 years since 1995, and also confirmed the illegality of the production and sale of the same products in China by TCP or any third party.

In response, TCP told Yicai Global that the ruling is a first-instance judgment and has yet to take effect, and the company is appealing the ruling. It added that the ruling did not make any determination on the validity of the “50-year” clause.

For a long time, one of the key points in the dispute between the two Red Bull companies in China and Thailand has been whether the time limit for cooperation between the sides is 20 years or 50 years.

In 1993, TCP founder Chaleo Yoovidhya visited China’s Hainan province to invest funds and build a factory. In early 1995, Reignwood Group founder Yan Bin set up Red Bull China, officially named Red Bull Vitamin Drink, with the Thai partner, getting a production license.

As per to the agreement, Chaleo, founder of Red Bull Thailand, provided brand authorization, and Yan was responsible for production and sales. After many years of hard work, Red Bull achieved success in China, with sales exceeding CNY20 billion (USD2.88 billion) in 2016.

But at the end of 2015, with the trademark registration about to expire, a conflict between TCP and Reignwood Group broke out. The two parties have filed a series of lawsuits since 2016.

TCP said the cooperation was for 20 years, so Red Bull’s trademark license in China should have expired in 2016. Reignwood presented a cooperation agreement, saying that Red Bull China has the exclusive right to produce and sell Red Bull beverages in China, with a validity period of 50 years until 2045.

One of the reasons why the authenticity of the “50-year-effective agreement” in the final-instance judgment of China’s Supreme People’s Court was questionable was that the 50-year cooperation agreement provided by Reignwood to the court was a copy.

Red Bull China suddenly announced in February that it had submitted the original “agreement” valid for 50 years to the judicial authorities.

Yesterday’s announcement by Reignwood implies that the fight between the two Red Bull companies, which has lasted for six years, is set to continue.

Editors: Shi Yi, Peter Thomas