On July 25th in China, the Intermediate People's Court of Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province issued a civil judgment on the infringement case of Ningbo Boyang Textile Co., Ltd.'s "Tangshi TONLION" trademark: it determined that Ningbo Boyang Textile Co., Ltd. The brand "TONLION" is a well-known trademark in China. The defendant Ningbo Yinzhou Deheng Electric Co., Ltd. was ordered to compensate the plaintiff for economic losses of RMB 21,500 and bear case acceptance fees of RMB 5,735.
The plaintiff claimed that Ningbo Boyang Textile Company, which was founded in August 1995, takes clothing as its leading industry and was formerly known as Ningbo Yongfeng Cloth Factory. Since 1997, Ningbo Yongfeng Cloth Factory has been using the registered "TONLION" trademark on casual clothing. After December 28, 2000, with the approval of the State Trademark Office, the "Tangshi TONLION" trademark was transferred to Boyang Textile Company, and then Boyang Company produced and sold T-shirts, shirts, sweaters, jeans, jackets, etc. This trademark is used in down and other series of casual clothing.
Since 2001, "Tangshi TONLION" has attracted the attention of the public and the media, and its sales network is distributed in more than 20 provinces (municipalities and autonomous regions) in China.
In March 2003, Tangshi brand casual clothing was recognized as a "Ningbo Famous Brand Product" by the Ningbo City Government in Zhejiang Province; in August 2005, Tangshi brand casual clothing was rated as a "Ningbo Famous Brand Product" by the World Brand Laboratory "China's 500 Most Valuable Brands" with a brand value of 2.974 billion yuan.
In 2005, the defendant Deheng Electric Co., Ltd. produced Tangshi brand range hoods and gas stoves for Shanghai Weiming Industrial Co., Ltd., and publicly sold Tangshi brand range hoods and gas stoves in its sales department. For gas stoves, " Tangshi TONLION" and " Tangshi tonlion" are used on the name brand, outer packaging, instructions and product information.
The plaintiff Boyang Textile Company requested the court to recognize "TONLION" as a nationally well-known trademark, and requested the defendant Deheng Electric Co., Ltd. to compensate for losses.
The court held that from the duration of use of the registered trademark "Tangshi TONLION", the duration, extent and geographical scope of the publicity work, the relevant public's awareness of the registered trademark, and the market performance of the registered trademark , product quality and brand value, etc., have met the provisions of Article 14 of the Trademark Law of the People's Republic of China and been recognized as a well-known trademark in China. The defendant used the trademarks "TONLION" and "tonlion" on its OEM range hoods and gas stoves, which constituted infringement.
Wang Jiaxing, who served as the presiding judge, pointed out that the Ningbo Intermediate Court’s recognition of China’s well-known trademarks for the first time has a certain significance in Ningbo. This allows companies to understand that the recognition of China’s well-known trademarks is not limited to the Industry and Commerce Bureau. In addition to the administrative channels, there are also judicial channels through the courts, through which intellectual property rights can be better protected.
Fei Zhenyu, the plaintiff’s attorney, believes that in the past, when China’s well-known trademarks could only be recognized through administrative channels, many companies could not promptly defend their rights when they were infringed. But now the courts can recognize them, and once they are If you are recognized as a well-known trademark, you can protect yourself across categories and regions. If you obtain an internationally well-known trademark, you can protect your brand in any corner of the world.