The established Chinese fermented beancurd brand Wangzhihe vowed to "bring the lawsuit with a German company to the end," said its general manager on Thursday.

OKAI, a department store of Germany, was accused of illegally registering the Wangzhihe logo in Germany. A Munich court heard the case on Wednesday, but the results are still unknown.

Wangzhihe started in 1678 and features fermented seasoning products. On November 21 2005 OKAI registered the logo. Wangzhihe noticed this discrepancy in July 2006 when it wanted to expand its market and register the logo in Germany. They filed a lawsuit against OKAI in a Munich court in January 2007.

According to Wang Hongqing, intellectual property consultant of Wangzhihe, OKAI argued that the logo of Wangzhihe was "a common portrait of Chinese ancient soldier" and that the registration is lawful.

"OKAI has been selling products by Wangzhihe for quite some time and it is impossible that it did not recognize our logo," Wang said, adding that the logo was designed by a Chinese professor who had transferred the copyright to Wangzhihe in the form of contract.

"The brand has been handed down through generations," said Wang Jiahuai, general manager of the Wangzhihe Food Group, "We won't allow anyone to steal it from us."

(Xinhua News Agency August 10, 2007)