26 August 2024
A trademark linked to the hit film The God of Cookery, starring Stephen Chow, recently fetched a significant sum at an auction on Taobao, an online platform operated by Alibaba. The Food God trademark, along with its Chinese equivalent Shi Shen, was auctioned from August 20 to August 21, 2024.
The bidding started at Rmb2,400 (US$340), but the fierce competition among 23 bidders, with 241 bids placed, pushed the final price to Rmb1.2 million (US$172,500) – an astonishing 50,000 percent increase from the starting bid. The trademark, owned by Zhuhai Food God Catering Management Co., falls under international class 43, which covers food and beverage services.
“This Food God trademark is really valuable, but the name is so well-chosen – it makes you hungry just hearing it,” commented a netizen on the Baidu forum.
The Food God trademark was first registered on November 7, 2008, with its exclusive rights valid until November 6, 2028. The Shi Shen trademark, registered earlier on September 14, 2008, has exclusive rights validity extending until September 13, 2028.
According to the Taobao auction notice, Zhuhai Food God Seafood City Catering Co. has been using the trademarks and logo since its inception in 1999, but it did not formally register the trademarks. Until its registration in 2008, the company held prior user rights, meaning it had established rights to the trademarks based on long-term use.
Image from the Taobao auction notice
Previous attempts to auction these trademarks on August 8 to 9, 2024, started at Rmb800 (US$112) with a bidding increment of Rmb300 (US$42) but were halted midway. The Food God trademark reached Rmb252,100 (US$35,400), while Shi Shen peaked at Rmb5,500 (US$773) before the end of the auction.
The auction notice also states that the winning bidder of the auction must pay the remaining balance of Rmb1,225,500 (US$172,100) within seven days, as well as cover a software service fee of Rmb6,139.5 (US$860) and a comprehensive service fee of Rmb24,558 (US$3,450). Failure to pay the balance on time will be considered a breach of purchase, leading to the forfeiture of the deposit and possible re-auctioning of the trademarks.
- Cathy Li
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