Recently, the Guangzhou Intellectual Property Court made a second-instance judgment on the appeal case of Jiannanchun Winery against Guangzhou Zengcheng Yinjie Store and the store operator Yin for trademark infringement, and found that the "Jiannanchun Fragrance" sold by Yinjie Store The "Jiannanchun" product infringes the "Jiannanchun" trademark rights held by Jiannanchun Winery, and the company needs to compensate Jiannanchun Winery for economic losses of 40,000 yuan. Yinjie Store's appeal was rejected and the first-instance judgment was upheld.
Public information shows that Jiannanchun Winery is the right holder of the registered trademark No. 1047165 "Jiannanchun".
In December 2015, the Guangzhou Zengcheng District Food and Drug Administration (hereinafter referred to as the Zengcheng Food and Drug Administration) seized 12 bottles of "Jiannanchun Fragrance" during a law enforcement inspection at the Yinjie store run by Yin. type liquor". After identification by Jiannanchun Winery, the seized products were counterfeit. In April 2016, the Zengcheng Food and Drug Administration imposed administrative penalties on Yin, confiscated the products involved and imposed a fine.
At the same time, Jiannanchun Winery sued Yinjie Store and Yin to the Huangpu District People’s Court of Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province (hereinafter referred to as Huangpu Court), requesting the court to order the two defendants to compensate for economic losses and reasonable expenses 110,000 yuan.
The Huangpu Court requested the seized Jiannanchun liquor from the Zengcheng Food and Drug Administration, and after comparing it with the genuine product, it concluded that the two were highly similar. The Huangpu Court believed that the "Jiannanchun Luzhou-flavor liquor" sold in Yinjie's store "The products were identified as counterfeit by Jiannanchun Winery. Yinjie Store informally purchased the goods from Jiannanchun Winery or authorized agents through the purchasing channels mentioned when the Zengcheng Food and Drug Administration inquired and investigated. Therefore, it was confirmed that the products sold by Yinjie Store were counterfeit. product.
As to the amount of compensation, the Huangpu Court held after trial that because Jiannanchun Winery did not provide evidence to prove the losses it suffered due to the infringement of Yinjie Store or the specific amount of benefits gained by Yinjie Store due to the infringement, comprehensive consideration Considering factors such as the popularity of Jiannanchun Winery’s trademark, the liquor consumer groups, the nature and consequences of Yinjie Store’s infringement, it was decided that Yinjie Store should compensate Jiannanchun Winery for economic losses of 40,000 yuan.
After the first-instance verdict, Yinjie Store was dissatisfied and appealed to the Guangzhou Intellectual Property Court. Yinjie Store stated that Jie Store purchased the products involved in the case without knowing it. It was difficult to tell whether the products involved were infringement of trademark rights based on their appearance. Yinjie Store had no subjective fault, and the products involved were sold before they started selling. The seizure and confiscation objectively did not cause serious consequences; the amount of compensation awarded in the first instance was too high.
The Guangzhou Intellectual Property Court held that in a trademark infringement case, the right holder requests the court to determine the losses suffered due to the infringement, the infringer’s profits and the amount of the license fee. The amount of compensation shall be determined within the legal scope and in compliance with legal provisions.
Trademark Transfer Network would like to say that merchants had better learn to distinguish true and false trademarks when purchasing goods, and purchase goods from formal channels to avoid falling into the whirlpool of trademark infringement. Lawyers said that during the purchase and sales process, merchants should increase their legal awareness and pay attention to distinguishing abnormal products to avoid causing trouble to themselves.