How to determine the compensation standard for trademark infringement damage
1. How to determine the amount of damages for trademark infringement is clearly stipulated in the new Trademark Law. Article 63 of the Trademark Law stipulates that the amount of compensation for infringement of the exclusive right to use a trademark shall be determined according to the actual losses suffered by the obligee due to infringement; If the actual loss is difficult to determine, it can be determined according to the interests obtained by the infringer due to infringement; If it is difficult to determine the loss of the obligee or the interests of the infringer, it shall be reasonably determined by referring to the multiple of the trademark license fee. In case of malicious infringement of the exclusive right to use a trademark, if the circumstances are serious, the amount of compensation may be determined in accordance with the amount determined by the above method. The amount of compensation shall include the reasonable expenses paid by the obligee to stop the infringement. In order to determine the amount of compensation, the people's court may order the infringer to provide the account books and materials related to the infringement if the obligee has tried his best to provide evidence and the account books and materials related to the infringement are mainly held by the infringer; If the infringer fails to provide or provide false account books and materials, the people's court may determine the amount of compensation with reference to the claims of the obligee and the evidence provided. If it is difficult to determine the actual losses suffered by the obligee due to infringement, the interests gained by the infringer due to infringement, and the license fee for registered trademarks, the people's court shall award compensation of less than 3 million yuan according to the circumstances of the infringement. According to Article 56 of China's Trademark Law, the amount of compensation for infringement of the exclusive right to use a trademark is the interests gained by the infringer during the period of infringement, or the losses suffered by the infringer during the period of infringement, including the reasonable expenses paid by the infringer to stop the infringement. If the infringer gains benefits from the infringement listed in the preceding paragraph, or the losses suffered by the infringed are difficult to determine, the people's court shall award compensation of less than 500,000 yuan according to the circumstances of the infringement. The amount of compensation for trademark infringement in this provision seems to be relatively perfect, but there are problems in actual operation, such as what is the most specific benefit obtained by infringement without external rights, what is the loss suffered by the infringed party, and how to determine the specific amount. Two. Calculation of Infringement Profit With regard to the calculation of the infringer's interests due to infringement, Article 14 of the Supreme People's Court's Interpretation on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Laws in the Trial of Trademark Civil Disputes (hereinafter referred to as the Interpretation) stipulates: "The interests obtained due to infringement as stipulated in the first paragraph of Article 56 of the Trademark Law can be calculated according to the sales volume of the infringing goods and the unit profit of the goods; If the unit profit of a commodity cannot be determined, it shall be calculated according to the unit profit of a registered trademark commodity. " The State Administration for Industry and Commerce also stipulated in1February 29, 999 "Opinions on Several Issues Concerning Trademark Administrative Enforcement": "The profits made by the infringer during the infringement period generally refer to the sales revenue minus the cost and tax payable. The calculation of sales income only involves the actual income of the infringer, that is, the income from selling goods does not include inventory goods. " Although the above two calculation methods are different, their benchmark is infringement profit. However, in commercial operation, the profits obtained by enterprises can be divided into three types: main business profits, total profits and net profits. Profit from main business refers to all sales revenue after deducting costs; Total profit refers to pre-tax income, and income tax should be refunded as part of sales remuneration, other expenses should be deducted, and product sales tax should not be refunded; Net profit means that profits should be deducted not only from costs, but also from other expenses, with the net profit obtained by the infringer during the infringement period as the compensation amount. On the issue of compensation for the profits from infringement, it is more reasonable to choose the profits from the main business as the amount of infringement compensation, which not only does not need to pay income tax generated by its own business to protect the interests of the infringed, but also helps to deter infringement. However, in trademark infringement cases, the object of trademark infringement is only one or several products of the trademark owner, not all products, so different calculation methods should be adopted. In practice, the practical formula is: infringement profit = total sales during infringement × distribution ratio of infringing goods × profit rate. Among them, the distribution ratio of infringing goods refers to the proportion of infringing goods in all goods. According to the above discussion on infringing profits, the product of total sales during the infringement period and the distribution ratio of infringing goods is the main operating profit in the above article. When trademark infringement occurs, it often damages the interests of trademark owners. If the infringer is required to bear legal responsibility, in addition to stopping the infringement, he can also ask the other party for compensation. The calculation of trademark infringement compensation can be determined according to the actual losses suffered by the obligee due to infringement; If the actual loss is difficult to determine, it can be determined according to the interests obtained by the infringer due to infringement; If it is difficult to determine the loss of the obligee or the interests of the infringer, it shall be reasonably determined by referring to the multiple of the trademark license fee.