Pfizer loses Chinese Viagra brand battle to Guangzhou Welman

U.S. Pharmaceutical giant, Pfizer has lost the legal battle for the right to popular Chinese translation of its drug Viagra in the Beijing court. Court ordered that Pfizer can no longer use the Chinese name Wei Ge, or mighty brother, in reference to the product as China’s Guangzhou Welman had already registered the brand. The verdict of court is based on the fact that the “Wei Ge” is a common Chinese term for Viagra and Pfizer has no claims to the name. Pfizer advertised its anti-impotence tablet as Wan Ai Ke, which commonly called as Wei Ge by the people of China. Pfizer has challenged Guangzhou Welman for mimicking the brand’s look and using variations of its key drug. Last December, the same court also ordered to prohibit two other Chinese companies to stop marketing anti-impotence drugs under the name Wei Ge. In the latest ruling, the honorable Court said that Guangzhou Welman a Chinese anti-impotency drug maker had registered the Wei Ge brand with local authorities, and it should be allowed to use it.