"Quan_" and "Quanzhu" have the same pronunciation. One is simplified and the other is traditional Chinese. They look very similar, but they are registered trademarks of two completely different companies. The former is Shanghai A well-known trademark of a company, the latter is the corporate name of a company in Jiangsu. Recently, the Shanghai Intellectual Property Court concluded that the appellant Jiangsu Quanzhu Construction Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Jiangsu Quanzhu Company") and the respondent Shanghai Quanzhu Construction Decoration Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Shanghai Quanzhu Company") infringed the trademark In a copyright dispute case, it was determined that Jiangsu Quanzhu Company had infringed upon Shanghai Quanzhu Company’s registered trademark exclusive rights and was required to compensate for economic losses and reasonable expenses of 325,000 yuan.
Haiquanzhu Company is the right holder of the registered trademark "Quan_", which was recognized as a well-known trademark in China by the Trademark Office in November 2011. In 2016, Shanghai Quanzhu Company discovered that in the company’s official website opened by Jiangsu Quanzhu Company, the Chinese and English words “Quanzhu·Construction QUANZHUCONSTRUCTION” plus graphics, “Quanzhu Works”, “Quanzhu·Construction” and “Quanzhu” were used in many places "Case Display" and other signs and words to promote its indoor and outdoor decoration and other businesses. Shanghai Quanzhu Company believes that Jiangsu Quanzhu Company, without the consent of Shanghai Quanzhu Company, used logos similar to the trademark involved in the case, as well as the same words as the trademark involved in the case, to promote its indoor and outdoor decoration and other businesses, which could easily cause confusion and misunderstanding among the relevant public. , so the company filed a lawsuit with the court, requesting an order to order Jiangsu Quanzhu Company to immediately stop trademark infringement and compensate Shanghai Quanzhu Company for economic losses and reasonable expenses of 3 million yuan.
The Xuhui District People's Court found in the first instance that Jiangsu Quanzhu Company infringed the exclusive right to register a trademark of Shanghai Quanzhu Company. Jiangsu Quanzhu Company was dissatisfied and filed an appeal.
The Shanghai Intellectual Property Court held that the respondent, Shanghai Quanzhu Company, was the exclusive owner of the "Quan_" registered trademark and that the trademark had been used and promoted for a long time. , has a high reputation and distinctiveness, and has established a specific connection with the respondent. Without the permission of Shanghai Quanzhu Company, no one may use a trademark that is identical or similar to the registered trademark on the same or similar services. .
According to the evidence on file, the business scope engaged in by the appellant and the appellee’s registered trademark review service scope involved in the case are the same services. The overall background color of the infringement logo "Quanzhu·Construction QUANZHUCONSTRUCTION" used by the appellant Jiangsu Quanzhu Company with Chinese and English text plus graphics is yellow. It consists of graphics, the hieroglyph "Quanzhu", the Chinese characters "Quanzhu·Construction" and the English "QUANZHUCONSTRUCTION" " is a combination of graphics and text, both of which are slightly lighter yellow than the background color. The graphic occupies a larger area, but it cannot be directly related to the appellant. The Chinese characters "全" located at the bottom of the graphic are arranged up and down. "QUANZHUCONSTRUCTION" and the English "QUANZHUCONSTRUCTION". The "Construction" in the Chinese character "Quanzhu·Construction" reflects the industry classification. The English "QUANZHUCONSTRUCTION" is visually incomplete and vague. To the public's recitation, Recognition and memory habits will focus visual attention on the Chinese character "Quanzhu", taking "Quanzhu" as the main part to identify the logo, and the respondent's registered trademark involved in the case is the word "Quan_", both The pronunciation and meaning are the same, and there is only a difference between the simplified and traditional Chinese characters of "Zhu", which may easily cause the relevant public to misunderstand the source of the service or think that there is a specific connection between the appellant and the appellee. Therefore, the appellant is accused of The infringing mark is similar to the respondent’s registered trademark involved.
The court also held that the company name consists of region, trade name, industry or business characteristics, organizational form, etc. "Quanzhu" is the trade name of the appellant, and the appellant displayed and promoted its works on its website, In the case, the company name was directly abbreviated as "Quanzhu" by using methods such as "Quanzhu Works" and "Quanzhu Case Display", which went beyond the scope of standard use of company names and served the purpose of identifying the source of services. Therefore, the appeal was filed. Related behaviors of people belong to trademark use behaviors. Although there is no difference in font and size between the word "Quanzhu" and the following words, "Quanzhu" as the appellant's font size is a significant and identifiable part. The relevant usage behavior of Jiangsu Quanzhu Company Belongs to prominent use.
Accordingly, the Shanghai Intellectual Property Court dismissed the appeal and upheld the original judgment.
The judge believed that enterprises should exercise reasonable avoidance obligations when choosing trade names
Judge Wu Ying_ of the Shanghai Intellectual Property Court said that in this case, the focus of the dispute between the two parties focused on Jiangsu Quanzhu Company’s Whether the use of the font size and derivative logos infringes on the exclusive right of Shanghai Quanzhu Company’s “Quan_” registered trademark. The law does not exclude legally established enterprises from legally using their own corporate names, but the use of corporate names by enterprises in commercial activities should be regulated and must not harm the legitimate rights and interests of others. If an enterprise needs to appropriately simplify its corporate name during its business operations, it involves, using For relevant signs, care must be taken to ensure that they do not infringe upon the legitimate rights and interests of others.
In this case, the "Quan_" involved in the case before the establishment of Jiangsu Quanzhu Company was recognized as a famous trademark in Shanghai by the Shanghai Administration for Industry and Commerce. In 2011, it was recognized as a well-known trademark by the State Trademark Office. When the trademark has high visibility and distinctiveness, Jiangsu Quanzhu Company's trade name has the same composition as the trademark involved, and the services of both parties overlap, Jiangsu Quanzhu Company must fulfill its obligation to reasonably avoid and standardize the use of its corporate name so that the public can Differentiate between the services provided by the two.