(Yicai Global) March 18 -- Tencent Holdings is taking China's top intellectual property regulator to court after it ruled against the internet giant in a trademark dispute with a liquor maker.

The Beijing Intellectual Property Court started hearing the case yesterday. Tencent has asked the court to revoke the China National Intellectual Property Administration's ruling and order it to give a new verdict.

Tencent Technology Shenzhen filed a complaint with the CNIPA in June 2018, alleging that a trademark registered by Guizhou Wenqu Chengyu Brewery infringes its copyright for a mobile game called Arena of Valor, or Wangzherongyao in Chinese. It asked that the brewer's trademark be declared invalid.

The watchdog decided that although the trademarks are similar, the brewer's fruit wine, an alcoholic product, and Tencent's electronic publication, a downloadable product, are sold in different places with different aims, and so do not constitute similar trademarks on similar products. The name is also made up of common printed Chinese characters, which cannot independently express the thoughts and feelings of the work and are not a protected work under Chinese copyright law, the CNIPA added.

So the brewer's trademark registration did not infringe Tencent's copyright, nor did it constitute acts with exaggerated publicity and unfair competition, the CNIPA ruled.

Tencent refused to accept the ruling and filed a lawsuit with the Beijing IP Court, asking the liquor maker to participate in the case as a third party. The CNIPA said it disagreed with Tencent's pursuit of a court case and insisted on its original ruling. The court has yet to announce its verdict.

Editor: Peter Thomas