U.S.-based Universal Music Group has taken five Guangdong companies to court for alleged violations of its trademarks.

Its subsidiaries, Universal City Studios and Germany-based Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft, have sued five Guangdong audio-video publishing, distributing, and disc duplication businesses for allegedly illegally using the trademarks of "Universal" and "Polydor" on their audio-video products and are demanding 1 million yuan (US$128,000) in total compensation.

The trial opened Thursday at the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court. The five defendants, Audio Visual Publishing House of Guangdong; Starwin Culture Communication Co. based in Guangzhou, Kongaquelang Audio Visual Co. and Runsheng Electronic Co., both in Shunde, and PAC Audio Visual Chain Store Co. in Shenzhen have each been asked by the plaintiffs to pay compensation ranging from 100,000 yuan to 400,000 yuan.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs claim the five Guangdong businesses have produced and distributed more than 100 music or video records illegally bearing the trademarks of "Universal" or "Polydor" after the production and distribution contract terminated at the end of 2003. The plaintiffs filed the lawsuit in July 2005.

Most of the discs involved featured classic songs by Chinese singers including Jacky Cheung, Kelly Chen, Allen Tam and Faye Wong.

The contract with Shanghai Yifeng Communication Company (Yifeng), the then sole agent of Universal Music Group on the Chinese mainland, was valid between June 2001 to June 2003.

It was later extended to the end of 2003, said the plaintiff's lawyer. The five had not been authorized by either Yifeng, or the Universal City Studios or Deutche Grammophon Gesellschaft to use the trademarks of "Universal" or "Polydor" after the contract had expired.

The defendants' lawyer pointed out that in the Chinese recording industry, the practice is for a contract to start not at the signing date, but upon the approval from authorities to produce and sell the products. So the validity of the contract should have started around one year later, said Xu Zuoyun, a lawyer from Guangdong Jinguo Law Firm in Guangzhou.

Xu also presented to the court contracts that her clients had signed with Hong Kong Universal Co. but the plaintiffs refused to confirm their authenticity. The defendants also refused to recognize that the two plaintiffs represented the Universal Music Group.

The court had ordered the defendants to stop producing or selling the products in 2005.

Neither side agreed to accept a settlement and the court did not announce its judgment Thursday.

Editor: Yan