TCP Group Champions intellectual property protection in China

In celebration of this year’s World Intellectual Property Day, on April 26, TCP Group, the inventors and owners of the Red Bull brand and trademarks globally, is launching a new intellectual property (IP) fund in China, together with the support and active participation of numerous Chinese governmental agencies.

‘The TCP Group China Intellectual Property Protection Fund’(the “Fund”) will aim to foster an even stronger business environment for safeguarding IP. Most significantly, it will play a small but important role in sustaining the positive momentum behind China’s ongoing transformation into a global powerhouse for innovation, especially in relation to the Healthy China 2030 initiative.

In support of the Fund, TCP has made an initial pledge of RMB 2 million annually over the next three years, totaling RMB 6 million, as well as committing a percentage of the damages awarded from its current legal disputes. TCP will be cooperating with the China Patent Protection Association (PPAC) and the China Intellectual Property Research Institute (CIPS) to help realize the Fund’s ambitions to further strengthen the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship in China. These new cooperative partnerships will organize and deliver a wide range of pragmatic IP-focused activities, including:

1. Seminars to discuss risks and challenges and how to better protect companies’ IP
2. Training programs, especially for the food and beverage industry
3. Research projects on IP protection and operations
4. International exchange programs regarding IP protection

Mr. Ma Weiye, Secretary General of the China Intellectual Property Research Institute, said, “ As we gear up to celebrate World IP Day on April 26, we wholeheartedly support the TCP Group’s initiative to set up an IP Fund in China to promote the role that intellectual property (IP) rights play in encouraging innovation and creativity as well as further contribute to supporting the development of the business environment in China and worldwide.”

Mr. Saravoot Yoovidhya, Chief Executive Officer of TCP, said, “As a business, TCP has a long heritage stretching back half a century, including nearly 30 years in the Chinese market. Hainan province is my family’s ancestral home and where my grandfather was born, so China has always held a special place in my heart. Today it stands at the front and center of TCP’s ambitions to become a global ‘House of Brands.’ And we’re very proud to announce our new Fund as the latest milestone along that exciting journey – taken in our most important market worldwide, with some of our closest local partners.”

To support Red Bull’s long-term development in China, TCP has launched new partnerships and a new business model in such a way that the Group provides high-quality Red Bull products to the vast number of Chinese consumers. Furthermore, TCP has recognized the need to establish a more permanent in-market presence and recently established new entities to do so. These entities are empowering TCP to better understand local consumers’ needs, habits and preferences and develop products that are even more closely aligned with their special requirements.

In recent years, TCP has also worked extensively with the Chinese government not only to protect the Red Bull brand but also to strengthen IP protection throughout the wider food and beverage industry. This has included substantial investments in TCP’s anti-counterfeiting program. From May, 2019 to March 2020, the Group and its authorized distributor in China, Pusheng Food Sales Co.ltd. supported local authorities in carrying out approximately 180 anti-infringement actions across 20 provinces, in China. These efforts resulted in the disposal of tens of thousands of counterfeit beverages. In the future, TCP will continue to actively support China’s efforts to combat such infringements and ensure that Chinese consumers have access to authentic, world-class products.

“As the inventors and owners of Red Bull, TCP has always been guided by the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship,” said Mr. Yoovidhya. “And that’s never been more important than it is today, with the world now facing the unprecedented threat of the COVID-19 pandemic. We intend to continue harnessing that spirit to shape an IP-driven future, where innovation is increasingly deployed to solve some of the most pressing global issues and improve people’s lives. Together with our Chinese partners, we’ve also donated more than RMB 12 million to support COVID-19 prevention and control efforts in China as well as provided Red Bull products to support the front-line emergency responders.”

He continued, “As always, TCP remains steadfast in our determination to realize a new future for a new Red Bull in China. We will build and share this prosperous future together with both our partners and China consumers and ensure it benefits the beverage industry as a whole. I’m certain that today’s exciting launch of our new IP Fund will bring that future one step closer.”