DOJ zaps Red Bull with intellectual, safety raps

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has found probable cause to indict officers of the Thailand-based manufacturer of an internationally popular energy drink and its Filipino distributor for alleged violation of Philippine intellectual property and food safety regulations.

In a resolution signed by Undersecretary Jose Vicente Salazar, the DOJ directed the Legazpi City prosecutor’s office to file a case against officials of T.C. Pharmaceutical Industries Co. Ltd. (TCP), manufacturer of Red Bull Supreme Energy Drink, and the Rizal-based Maryland Distributors Inc. (MDI) for violation of Republic Act No. 8293 or the 1997 Intellectual Property Code, and RA 3720 or the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act of 1963.

Named respondents were TCP’s Pavana Langthara, Suthirat Yoovidhya, Supreeya Yoovidhya, Nucharee Yoovidhya and Visuit Chiemkitchavarote and MDI’s Gino Baltao, Gina Tolentino, Ramoncito Abad, Benjamin Ros and Nelson Escobar.

Salazar reversed the findings of the Legazpi prosecutor’s office which dismissed the complaint filed by Energy Food and Drinks Inc. (EFDI), a local company authorized by TCP and certified by the then Bureau of Food and Drugs in March 2003 as the exclusive Philippine distributor of Red Bull Supreme Energy Drink.

In the resolution, Salazar noted that “a food product shall be deemed misbranded if its labeling is false or misleading in any particular manner.” He said the dispute should be resolved in a full trial before the court.

“Since complainant EFDI was the exclusive distributor, its name must be indicated in the label of Red Bull products. In the instant case, however, the bottles of Red Bull bore tampered stickers/labels,” the DOJ official said in the resolution.

The DOJ also found that officers of TCP and MDI “acted in unison” in violating the property rights of EFDI.

The DOJ recommended the indictment of the respondents for violating RA 8293, which carries a prison term of two to five years and a fine of between P50,000 and P200,000, and RA 3720, which imposes a one- to 10-year jail sentence, P50,000 to P500,000 fine, or both.

The case stemmed from a complaint lodged by EFDI after it discovered that there was a proliferation in the market of Red Bull products with “MDI” stickers superimposed on the portion of the label that identified EFDI as the product’s exclusive distributor.