Category Archives: Protection

Is It Infringing to Show Others’ Trademarks on Exhibitions?

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By Luo Yanjie

Previously, our website introduced issues of trademark and patent in China exhibition: Legal Issues concerning Trademark during the Exhibition in China, Patent Issues for Attention on the Exhibition in China. Recently, a customer told our attorneys that they found a company using their registered trademarks for the promotion on similar goods in an exhibition. The company learned a little Chinese law and they know only Chinese patent law provides that “offer to sell” is infringement. So they ask our advice about that if using other’s registered trademarks constitute trademark infringement?

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How to Decide Infringement When Conflict between Trademark and Trade Name in China?

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By Luo Yanjie

As two different concepts in law, trademark plays the role as to distinguish the origin of the product or services, and the trade name is the literal expression to indicate different companies. But in the daily operation, we may see the confusion between these two concepts, and the trade name may also be used as kind of mark in business. Naturally, we see many companies choose to register their name as the trademark. Despite the similar function of them, the trademark and trade name are verified by different administrations (the mark is subject to the administration of trademark office, and the trade name is ruled by local administration of industry and commerce), but that also triggers the conflict between two objects. In today’s post, we would like to analyze the conflict occurred when trade name registered prior to the trademark by different subjects.

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Calculation to the Illegal Operation Income in Trademark Infringement

By Luo Yanjie

The trademark infringement in China, honestly though reluctant to admit, is very serious. That made the administration and the judicial organ pay more attention to the infringement investigation, and on the other hand, foreign invested companies could also be dragged into the conflict concerning the trademark, like Apple encountered enforcement by local administration for iPad trademark. In such circumstance, the calculation to the illegal income amount shall be important to the infringer, which shall influence their legal liability in direct way.

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Could Selling Parallel Imported iPhone 5 be Trademark Infringement in China?

By Luo Yanjie

In recent, Apply unveiled its new device iPhone 5, and that exited Apple fans around the world. Yet, as sad to Apples fans in mainland China, the region is not among the first launching zones.

Due to the arrangement, the retailer from the grey market is eagerly for their new fortune with the new device launch, and some have even made the preorder for the new iPhone by smuggling the Hongkong sold one to mainland China. Then, in addition to the strike back on taxation, could Apple prohibit such selling through the claim of trademark infringement, while considering all the imported ones are the true Apple phones? Here’re our opinions:

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How to Legally Use Mickey Mouse Brand and FIgure in China?

By You Yunting

About one month before, the IPR Committee of Shanghai Bar Association invited the police officer from the Economic Investigating Squadron of Shanghai Police Department to deliver a speech on the criminal protection over IPR issues. And in the communication after the seminar, the police officer raised a question to the acceded lawyers, “The Shanghai Disney Land will be constructed several years later, and it’s foreseeable that there could be stores selling Mickey Mouse or other figures articles with no license thereby granted around the park. Yet, by then, the copyright protection term on Mickey could be expired, and so what measures could be taken to strike the unlicensed using or selling?”

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What is the Best Solution to Trademark Protection in China

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By Luo Yanjie

Trademark infringement, trademark right protection, trademark application, trademark agency, trademark lawsuit, trademark administrative complaint, trademark custom record, trademark infringing products seal, trademark lawyer, trademark complaint, trademark administrative punishment, trademark infringement claim, trademark lawsuit compensation, trademark law, crime of trademark infringement, crime of trademark counterfeit, crime of sales of fake trademarked products, crime of illegal manufacture & sales of illegally manufactured trademark,

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Trademark Infringement Liability of Real Estate Lessors in China Law

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 By Luo Yanjie

In a recent news report (note: the link is in Chinese), Guang Dong OPPO Mobile Telecommunications Co., Ltd, the holder of trademark OPPO used in mobile phones, filed a lawsuit against a company and the lessor of its store, claiming ceasing the infringement and the compensation. Beijing Fengtai District People’s Court judged the joint liability of infringement of the both the shop and the real estate lessor and shall compensate the plaintiff 10, 000 yuan.

This is a typical trademark dispute arisen by the shop’s infringement and then lead to the liability of the market which is the real estate lessor, and in the similar cases, the market tends to feel being wronged for what it provides is the real estate renting not the conducts or aids in the infringement, yet the court will judge the establishment of the infringement liability. Today, we would like to analyze the liability taking in the similar cases.

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Could Bolt’s Portrait be Used in Trademark?

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By Albert Chen

The fastest man Usain Bolt continued his legend in London Olympics by claiming 3 gold medals, accompany with his record, Bolt’s celebration gesture also impresses the spectators. But in recent, a company from China’s Liaoning Province (the “Liaoning Company”) applied sprinter’s celebration gesture as his trademark.

The trademark applied by Liaoning Company is the combination of a black sportsman in yellow jersey and Bolt’s iconic victory gesture on the left half, and the Chinese character of “Real Hero” on the right side (the “Real Hero trademark”). There are three classes have been applied this time, among which the application in Class 43 has been rejected for others’ first registration, the application in Class 25 was approved and that in Class 28 is facing the opposition from Bolt’s team.

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Will Alcohol Trademarks Implying Them the State Liquor Be Registered in China?

By Albert Chen:

By the latest trademark gazette of State Trademark Office of China on 20th July of 2012, “Guo Jiu Mao Tai”, which implies it the state liquor, has come through the preliminary examination and has been published. The news soon agitated the argument among the industry and academic circle, and other brewers like Feng Jiu (SSE:600809) and Luzhou Laojiao (SZSE: 000568) have all expressed their oppositions on it and planed to block the registration of “Guo Jiu Mao Tai”.

As retrieved on the state trademark website, I find it’s not the trademark’s first application. Early in 2011, the applicant China Kweichow Moutai Distillery Co., Ltd (the “Maotai Company”) tried to register the trademark, yet it was refused by the authority and the same for the follow on 5 applications. The current preliminarily approved marks are concentrated in Class 33, covering the fruit wine, Bitter, wine, aperitif, spirit, and alcohol beverage excluding beer, etc.

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Apple Finally Gets its iPad Trademark in China

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According to China Trademark Office’s latest ” Announcement of Trademarks “, the iPad trademark, which used to owned by Shenzhen Proview were formally transferred to Apple on July 27, 2012. And by Chinese Trademark Law, Apple could exercise the exclusive right over the trademark from the day.

As we reported last week :

Grandall Law Firm, GH Law Firm, Hejun Vanguard Group and other units providing legal or agency service to Proview applied to Shenzhen Yantian People’s Court in written for freezing of iPad trademark in China on 23 July,2012, also they have submitted the guarantee of RMB 300 million.

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Will Lashou Lose its Trademark Battle after Apple?

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—Analysis on Lashou trademark dispute

By Luo Yanjie

According to a recent news report (note: the link is in Chinese), Lashou Company, the largest daily deal website in China, owns the right of Chinese trademark “拉手网”, but the English trademark “lashou” is owned by “Shenzhen Harmonious Network Limited ” (the former Shenzhen Qiandao Ecommerce Ltd, hereinafter referred to as Shenzhen company) who applied the trademark in February of 2012, 2 months earlier than Lashou company. Shenzhen declared that the company may defend its legal interests. In addition, due to the “lashou” trademark is now of the ownership of the Shenzhen company, we have also noticed the concerns of the continuing use of lashou.com by Lashou Company.

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Cartier sues Walmart’s Yihaodian of Trademark Infringement and Non-fair Competition

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—Complementation between Anti-unfair Competition Law and Trademark Law

By Luo Yanjie

Anti-unfair competition law, trademark law, Walmart, Cartier, Yihaodian, yihaodian.com, Yihaodian being charged, Cartier sues Yihaodian, malicious competition in market, unfair-competition infringement, trademark infringement, trademark lawyer, trademark infringement definition, establishment of unfair-competition, legal protection of trademark in unfair competition law, false propaganda, revision of anti-unfair competition law, completion of anti-unfair competition law,

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Can Sound or Smell be registered as Trademarks in China?

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—the introduction to the registerable trademarks in China

By You Yunting

As a news report (note: the link is in Chinese), Apple applied the trademark protection for the start up sound of its Mac in USA and Europe. The protection of sound trademark is on the front of the theory research, and in many situations, the sound is protected through copyright law. So far, to register the sound as mark in China is of no legal ground. Meanwhile, in the latest revision of the Chinese Trademark Law, we notice the suggestions to add sound as legal sort of trademark, which was objected by some experts. According to the schedule of the legislation in China, the latest Trademark Law could be issued in this October as soonest, and then we could find the answer to proposal. Today, we will introduce you the sorts of trademarks to be applied in China.

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