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contrast, Apple Inc last month lost its battle to prevent a
domestic company from using the "iPhone" trademark on leather
goods in China.
China's intellectual property protections are often perceived as
quite lax but they are steadily improving, lawyers say. The
victory may offer a glimmer of hope for Facebook Inc in
China, where its social network is not accessible and its
business is mainly selling overseas advertising for Chinese
companies.
The Beijing Municipal High People's Court said the Zhongshan
Pearl River Drinks application, filed in 2011, to label certain
foods and beverages "face book" was an obvious act of copying
and harmed fair market competition.
A Facebook spokeswoman declined to comment. An employee at Pearl
River Drinks said the case was not widely known at the company
and that the staff member in charge of it was not available for
comment.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and other executives have made
concerted efforts to woo Chinese officials. In March, Zuckerberg
had a rare meeting with the country's propaganda tsar, a
suggestion of warming relations between Facebook and the
government.
Zuckerberg frequently makes headlines in China, where he has
achieved celebrity status by making speeches in Mandarin and
sharing pictures of runs through noxious smog in Beijing's
Tiananmen Square.
Facebook had previously objected to China's Trademark Review and
Adjudication Board twice but was unsuccessful, prompting its
decision to take the case to court.
(Reporting by Stella Tsang; Writing by Paul Carsten; Editing by
Edwina Gibbs)
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