Facebook wins trademark case in China

Facebook has warded off a threat by a Chinese firm to use its famous name for a refreshing beverage after a Beijing court ruled in favour of the US social networking giant in a rare trademark case.

The court saidthe local firm had "violated moral principles" with "obvious intention to duplicate and copy from another high-profile trademark", BBC reported.

Zhongshan-based Zhujiang Beverage, which sells products like milk-flavored drinks and porridge, said it registered its trademark "face book" in 2011. The company faced objections from Facebook, but gained approval from the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board the country's trademark authority in 2014 to use it.

Facebook is blocked in China since 2009 but its founder Mark Zuckerberg who is married to a Chinese has recently gone on a charm offensive to access the Chinese market.

The court judgement was a reprieve of sorts for the Facebook as Apple last week lost itstrademark fight in Chinato a handbag firm which won legal case to retain the name Iphone.

The court ruling in favour of Facebook has led Chinese local media to speculate whether Beijing's hard stance against Facebook might soften.

During a recent visit to China, Zuckerberg met with China's propaganda chief Liu Yunshan as well as fellow media guru Jack Ma.

In whatcritics described as a publicity stuntto win China's favour, he also went for a run on Beijing's Tiananmen Square despite heavy pollution and also achieved celebrity status by making speeches in Mandarin.