The makers of a product called Yakudo were trying to 'ride on the reputation' of the international yoghurt drink Yakult, a judge said yesterday in his ruling in favour of the plaintiffs.
The case was brought by Japanese dairy-product giant Kabushiki Kaisha Yakult Honsha, Yakult Company in Taiwan and Hong Kong Yakult Company, who sought to block the rival firm from selling similar products in Hong Kong.
They claimed the competing Yakudo product had misappropriated their goodwill and caused confusion. Yakudo's products have not yet gone on sale in Hong Kong but are available on the mainland.
The defendants were Hong Kong-based Yakudo Group Holdings and Lee Tao-kuang. Mr Lee is the eldest son of a former president of Yakult. He and his family own 25 per cent of the shares in Yakult in Taiwan.
In finding for the plaintiffs, Mr Justice Johnson Lam Man-hon in the Court of First Instance said he found the evidence of Mr Lee to be unreliable.
'I do not regard him as an honest witness,' he said.
Mr Justice Lam said the issue of damages arising out of this was 'self-evident' and that damages would be assessed at a later date. An order for an injunction to stop the defendants producing the drinks was also granted.