Car maker Tesla sued in China for trademark infringement

US electric car maker Tesla is being sued here in China for trademark infringement.

The suit has been launched by a Chinese business man, who has been in a trademark dispute with Tesla for the past few months.

The suit from Zhan Baosheng comes as a bit of a surprise, as Tesla announced back in January that it's resolved its dispute over the trademark.

Zhan registered the Tesla trademark here in China before the US company entered the Chinese market.

He's been demanding Telsa shut down all its marketing and pay him nearly 4-million US dollars in compensation.

The Chinese courts will hear the case early next month.

For more on this, we are now joined on line with Benjamin Cavender, associate principal at China Market Research in Shanghai.

Questions:

1. Is trademark dispute a common problem faced by foreign firms in China?

2. How much will this case affect Tesla's operation in China?

3. It's reported that Zhan had in the past sought to sell the label to the U.S. company but negotiations collapsed. Is the 4 million dollars compensation he is seeking now reasonable?

That is Benjamin Cavender, associate principal at China Market Research in Shanghai.