(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-12-11 23:18

Hangzhou -- French food group Danone Tuesday voiced displeasure and vowed to appeal after losing its battle with Chinese beverage giant Wahaha Group in a trademark dispute.

Danone said in Shanghai that it was "shocked" by the verdict handed down by the Hangzhou Arbitration Commission the previous day and would appeal according to the legal procedures.

The panel ruled that the popular Wahaha trademark belonged to Wahaha Group, Danone's Chinese joint venture partner.

Danone had contended that the Wahaha trademark belonged to the joint venture. However, the panel ruled that a Trademark Transfer Agreement, jointly signed by the two groups in 1996, which indicated that the trademark should be transferred to the joint venture, had expired in 1999.

The move was the latest in the dispute between the Chinese drink group and the French giant that emerged in April and has become highly public.

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