Zhongyang central court published a typical case of judicial protection of intellectual property in 2025
On the occasion of world intellectual property day 26, the intermediate people's court of chenyang issued seven typical cases of judicial protection of intellectual property in 2025. The cases covered areas such as the protection of trademark rights, collective management of copyrights, interfacing of convicts, such as trades involving prominent foreign brands, local geographical indications, cultural and recreational consumption, and further clarification of the criteria for the identification of common torts, the boundaries for review of the proper use of geographical names trademarks and the principle of matching the intensity of descriptive trademark protection, highlighting the role of judicial decisions in leading, regulating and safeguarding industry development。
Case i
Cases of abuse of foreign trademarks using the division of family roles
- a swiss company vs. A box company in guangzhou, a dispute against the trademark rights of one or another
A swiss company
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The right holders of registered trademarks. One of yang's approximation trademarks had been declared null and void by the national intellectual property agency, and one of his wives had set up a guangzhou box company for the production of tort kits for sale by one of his brothers and yang's internet stores. The accused continued to commit violations after having been subjected to administrative punishment。
The intermediate people's court of the city of chenyang held that the defendants, based on the relationship between husband and wife, brother and investment, were highly mixed in the origin of the tort goods and the destination of the shipment, and had developed an integrated tort chain of division of labour, constituting a joint tort and joint and several liability. Taking into account the continuing violations, the scale of the violations, the degree of organizationalization and the high profile of the trademarks involved, and taking into account the administrative sanctions imposed on the defendants, the defendants were sentenced to compensation for economic losses and reasonable expenses of $700,000。
This case is a typical case of equal protection of foreign intellectual property rights under the law. The courts were precise in combating the violation of trademarks using the identity of relatives and the organized division of labour, establishing joint violations and imposing joint and several liability in accordance with the law. The notion of equality and professionalism in the judicial protection of intellectual property rights in our country are underlined by the fact that the amount of compensation is paid in full consideration of malicious circumstances, such as the repetition of violations, both in terms of the level of damages and the warning of sanctions。
Case ii
Cross-integrated treatment of convicted persons under the “triple” mechanism of intellectual property case
— case concerning the marking of a registered trademark illicitly manufactured or sold in peng wen, zhou zhou zhou zihua
At the end of 2020, romylin and dai (both convicted) conspired to build a factory in hunan to produce counterfeit electronic smoke. Between may and august 2021, the accused peng wen sold 34,426 electronic smokers of the fake “mk” “hqd” trademark to roichilin and others, valued at over $280,000; the accused customised and sold 311,000 sets of paper packagings of the fake “elfbar” trademark, valued at over $120,000. Peng has arranged for the painting of the factory and has instructed others to print false markings and sell them directly on a single basis. Following the incident, the two men voluntarily surrendered and returned part of the proceeds of the offence. Zhou zhou zhou zhou zhou zhou zhou zhou zhou zhou zhou zhou zhou zhou zhou zhou zhou zhou zhou zhou zhou zhou zhou zhou zhou zhou zhou zhou zhou zhou zhou zhou zhou zhou zhou zhou zhou zhou zhou zhou zhou zhou zhu zhu zhu zhu zhu zhu zhu zhu zhu zhu zhu zhu zhu zhu zhu zhu zhu was sentenced for false registration of a trademark, the case was an omission before his previous conviction。
The court of first instance held that the two defendants had committed an offence in a particularly serious manner by illegally manufacturing and selling illicit registered trademarks. They both surrendered, pleaded guilty and withdrew. The court sentenced peng to two years ' imprisonment and two years ' probation and a fine of $30,000; and zhou zihua to one year and six months ' imprisonment and a fine of $15,000. Zhou zihua appealed on the basis of an imbalance in sentences, and the court of the intermediate people's court of chenyang found the original verdict to be clear and the sentence appropriate. Although zhou zhou zhou zhou zhou zhou zhou zhou zhou zhou zhou zhou zhou zhou zhou zhou zhou zhou zhou zhou zhou zhou zhui zhu zhu zhou zhu zhu zhu zhu zhu zhu zhu zhu zhu zhu zhu zhu zhu zhu zhu zhu zhu zhu zhu zhu zhu zhu zhu zhu zhu zhu zhu zhu zhu zhu zhu zhu zhu zhu has committed a criminal offence against intellectual property, he has committed a criminal offence, and his zhou zhou zhou zhou zhou zhou zhou zhou zhou zhu zhu zhu zhu zhu zhu zi zhu zhu z。
The case [typically] is a model case for promoting integrated solutions to cross-cutting issues under the intellectual property “triple” mechanism. The court of second instance, taking advantage of the professional advantage of civil judges, scrutinizes the underlying facts of trademark infringement and ensures the correctness of criminal accountability. The court took the initiative to induce infringers to pay damages in order to obtain an understanding and, although no conciliation was eventually reached, through professional and transparent hearings, the accused pleaded guilty to the charges, the right-holder was satisfied, the process of “pre-trial” proceedings was effectively avoided, and the quality of judicial protection was reconciled with the substance of the conflict。
Case iii
Descriptive trademark protection strength and visibility match
- a dispute over trademark rights in changsha's joint venture v. Zhongyang's restaurant general store
The plaintiffs are:
“the rights holders of the trademarks of related catering services are first used and have some visibility. The defendant, tsui, the owner of a catering store in xianyang, used the "search" sign on the shop's dress. The plaintiff claimed $80,000 for trademark infringement and unfair competition. The defendant argued that the use of a family name-based name was not arbitrary。
According to the intermediate people's court of chenyang [of the decision], the “seuh” is a descriptive term consisting of the common name of the family name and the business name, which is less inherently prominent. Although the plaintiff acquired acquired acquired obscurity by using it, the defendant used the act with a genuine surname background, with less subjective malice and geographical limitations in the influence of the plaintiff's trademark. The court found that it constituted a tort, but awarded $7,000 in compensation with due regard to the principle of matching the public attributes of the trademark and the strength of the protection in the light of the discretion of compensation. Both parties gave their sentences。
The case [typically] is a model case of balancing trademark private rights with public domain resources. The word “suppress” is a combination of common family names and business generic names, and is naturally descriptive and public and should not be easily monopolized. In its decision, the court established a clear logical chain: first, it recognized that the term was rooted in the public domain and was inherently less prominent; secondly, it affirmed that the rights-holders acquired the acquired obscurity through long-term commercial input and should be protected by law; and finally, in determining the intensity of compensation, it reverted to its source, clearly matching the scope of protection with the actual contribution of the trademark. The decision was precise in stating that the level of protection must be commensurate with the inherent visibility of trademarks and market influence, and that excessive protection should avoid squeezing the space for the proper use of public symbols by the operator. This case eventually set the amount of compensation at a discretionary level of $7,000 from the originally stated amount of $80,000, which fully reflects the vivid practice of the “proportional principle” in intellectual property law and provides an important reference for dealing with disputes over prominent and weak trademarks such as generic terminology, family names, geographical names, etc.: trademark rights holders should be given remedies commensurate with their efforts and should be prevented from turning public domain terminology into a private domain。
Case iv
An approximation of a trademark without confusion does not constitute a violation. Case
- a company in guangzhou against a trademark rights dispute case
A company in guangzhou has registered the “elle” trademark on type 41 educational services. The company jinyang ei wei operates the alawi young child sensitivity boxer, highlighting the use of the alwe logo. The first instance judgement found that the trademark violation had been committed and both parties appealed。
The second trial of the chenyang intermediate people's court held that the “mixed possibility” was the core element that constituted the violation. While markings are similar and service-like, the public is found to be less susceptible to misperception, taking into account factors such as the plaintiff's failure to establish a local profile in the field of physical fitness and semen, the defendant's reasonable explanation of the characters, the lack of evidence of intentional or actual confusion. The decision of first instance was set aside and the plaintiffs were dismissed in its entirety。
The second hearing in this case [typically] accurately grasps the criteria for the identification of trademark torts, abandons the mechanical thinking of “heavy form ratio, less substantive confusion” and establishes the idea of a comprehensive consideration of trademark visibility, geographical impact, subjective intent and actual confusion of evidence. The decision leads judicial practice back to the essential element of “market confusion”, which is of considerable exemplary value in correcting the tendency to adjudicate in the category of cases。
Case v
Judicial determination of defences to the proper use of geographical names trademarks
- a dispute over trademark rights against a company called chen fei
It's a company called sun rain
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“registration trademark rights holders authorized for use in beverages. A company, chen ying fei, uses the "rain mother fly" logo for barrel water promotion pages and bottles. The company that flew argued that the name of the “main rain” was a proper use。
The trial of the goose peaks people's court found that flying a company in a prominent position for the goods highlighted the use of the term “down mother flying”, weakened the function of decorative origin and highlighted the role of identifying the source of the goods and constituted a trademark use that was not a legitimate use of geographical names. Its defence that the “mother of rain fly” is a registered trademark has been invalidated on goods such as mineral water and cannot be established. Taking into account such factors as the timing of the infringement, the publicity of the trademark, the court awarded a sum of $35,000 for economic losses incurred by a company that was involved in the rain and reasonable defence costs. The sentence was upheld in second instance by the intermediate people's court of chenyang。
The criteria for judicial review of the defence of the proper use of geographical names trademarks have been clarified in this case. The decision noted that it was critical to examine whether use went beyond what was necessary to describe the place of origin and whether it constituted a trademark use. In the determination of compensation, the courts have allocated the burden of proof reasonably and have made a discretionary determination of the amount of compensation, providing clear guidance in cases of violation of trademarks of the same kind。
Case vi
Case where ktv operators should actively perform copyright paying obligations
— the asociación asociación avocats v
The chinese association for the collective management of audio-visual copyright (caema) exercises collective control over a large volume of music and television works in accordance with the law. The ktv service is run by a hotel in jinyang, whose on-demand system contains songs such as rewinding, the city love, etc., for on-demand transmission by consumers. In november 2021, ica sent a letter urging the non-payment of contract fees. In october 2023, aca obtained evidence confirming the broadcasting of 33 songs at a hotel in chenyang. At first instance, the total number of self-identified compartments at a certain hotel in chenyang was 43, on the basis of which the court of first instance calculated damages during the two-year violation at the rate of 2. 8 yuan/inter-day and awarded compensation of 88892. The appeal stated that only 17 boxes were actually available。
In the second trial [of the decision], the intermediate people's court of the city of chenyang held that the number of rooms identified by a hotel in chenyang at first instance was 43, that the evidence submitted by the latter was not supported by evidence and that it contradicted the first instance statement. The number of tort compartments was determined to be 43, based on the high standard of civil evidence. The second judgement dismissed the appeal and upheld the sentence。
The use of other people's music and television productions [typically] should be subject to voluntary licensing contracts and contributions from collective copyright organizations. In determining the standard of compensation, the court took into account factors such as the current state of operations in the ktv industry, the scale of the tort, and, where appropriate, the criteria of 2. 8 yuan/inter-day, both in defence of the legitimate interests of the author and the real affordability of the operator, reflecting a careful balance between intellectual property protection and industry development。
Case vii
Impersonation of the chinese petrochemical gas station logo was awarded compensation case
— sino-petrochemical co. V. A gas station in quidong county, a dispute over trademark rights
In china, petrochemicals are rights holders of the trademarks of chinese petrochemicals services. Some of the refuelling units in kibung county have been using red-red-faced markings similar to the height of china's petrochemical registered trademark in their posts, adverts, shacks, etc. The court of first instance awarded 90,000 yuan in compensation for a combination of sales revenues and industry profits. The chinese petrochemical appeal claimed $890,000 for punitive damages to be applied to the tort。
The second trial of the municipal intermediate people's court of chenyang held that the application of statutory compensation in the first instance and a combination of factors and discretionary compensation of 90,000 yuan was within reasonable discretion in cases where the right-holder could not sufficiently prove the actual loss and the benefit of the violation. The appeal was dismissed and the sentence upheld, as the identification had been changed after the receipt of the materials of the proceedings at a gas station in kandong county and there was insufficient evidence available to establish the gravity of the violation and the application of punitive damages。
[specifically] the case warns a wide range of operators that the use of a similar label to a well-known trademark to “paint the edge” constitutes a violation. Instead of being faced with a high level of compensation, it is better to actively seek a brand mandate and regulate business. In determining compensation, the court was able both to preserve well-known brand values and to strike a reasonable balance between the level of protection and the survival and development of the market subjects, taking into account actual prudential considerations of the profits and operations of the industry。
