Huationg Global settles trademark-infringement lawsuit out of court

HUATIONG Global (HG) and its wholly owned subsidiary, Huationg Contractor (HC), have reached an amicable out-of-court settlement with a group of similarly-named but unrelated companies in a trademark infringement lawsuit which began early last year.

The Catalist-listed civil engineering firm said in a filing on Thursday evening that the plaintiff group of had filed a notice to wholly discontinue the lawsuit against HG and HC.

In January 2018, the plaintiff group of Singapore companies - Huationg Holdings, Huationg Inland Transport Services, Huationg (Asia), and Hua Resources - sued HG and HC in the High Court of Singapore. These firms are not a part of HG and its subsidiaries.

The plaintiff group had alleged that they were the co-owner of certain trademarks registered in the name of HG and HC or alternatively that the said trademarks were invalid.

They also alleged that HG and HC had made "certain groundless threats of infringement and had defamed the plaintiff group", causing Huationg Holdings and Huationg Inland Transport Services to suffer damages, according to a February 2018 filing by HG.

HG and HC had said then they were disputing these claims and intended to "strenuously defend" the allegations.

On Thursday, HG said it does not expect the settlement to have a material impact on the group's earnings per share and net tangible assets per share for the current financial year ending Dec 31, 2019.

Huationg Global provides civil engineering services for infrastructure projects and ancillary inland logistics support services, and also sells construction materials.

Its shares last traded on June 19 at 14.5 Singapore cents.