Man fined $29,700 for copycatting Sabeco beer product

Le Dinh Trung, 56, was found guilty of infringing Vietnam's largest brewer Sabeco's trademark Thursday.

After quitting his job at the Saigon Beer, Alcohol, Beverage Corporation (Sabeco) in 2019, Trung set up a company called Saigon Beer Vietnam in HCMC's District 1 with an authorized capital of VND30 billion.

He put up70% of the capital, 49-year-old Tran Thi Ai Loan contributed 15% and the rest was from an unnamed person.

Before authorities registered the Saigon Beer Vietnam brand,the partners signed a contract with BiVa brewery in Ba Ria-Vung Tau to produce 8,912 boxes of beer.

They then sold 3,300 of them to three customers for VND578 million.

Prosecutors said, at VND29,000 each, the total value of all the boxes was over VND1.4 billion.

The Vietnam Intellectual Property Research Institute said the design of Saigon Beer Vietnam cans infringed the Saigon Beer trademark.

Following the verdict, Saigon Beer Vietnam has suspended operations.