"They bought the buns on Jan 22 and started selling them on Jan 31. The flavor of the buns could not be guaranteed after such a long time," Zhu said, adding that this will harm the brand.

The Changsha company used the "Qing Feng buns" slogan in their commercial activity and also used the registered trademark of Qing Feng in packaging, tableware and signboards, said Li Changgui, a legal adviser to Qing Feng, at a news conference on Wednesday.

Zhu said his company has evidence of copyright infringement and will take legal action if the Changsha company refuses to acknowledge the breach of copyright.

Qing Feng buns were registered with the national trademark office in 1998, and in 2010, they were declared a Famous Beijing Trademark by commercial authorities in the capital.

The Changsha company said in a statement on its official micro blog that it did not declare or suggest it was acting in cooperation with Qing Feng.

The statement also said the buns it sold were from a branch of Qing Feng and it adhered to all aspects of the supply agreement.

The company also denied that it marked up the price unfairly. They said that freight charges work out to about 3.25 yuan per bun.

The statement also said Qing Feng's internal communications between various branches was at fault.

A spokesman for the Changsha company declined to comment further and referred to the statement when contacted on Thursday.

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