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Will I be punished for trademark infringement?

Trademark infringement generally does not lead to prison sentences, except in the following circumstances:

1. Anyone who knowingly sells goods that are counterfeit registered trademarks and the sales amount is relatively large shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years. Or criminal detention, and concurrently or solely a fine;

2. Using the same trademark as the registered trademark on the same kind of goods without the permission of the owner of the registered trademark, if the circumstances are serious, he shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years Or criminal detention, and concurrently or solely a fine;

3. Other circumstances.

The manifestations of infringing trademarks are as follows:

1. Infringement of use. It refers to the act of using an identical or similar trademark to the registered trademark on the same or similar goods or services without the permission of the registered trademark owner. Use infringement is a common type of trademark infringement in practice. Inseparable from use infringement is trademark dilution, which is another form of use infringement. For example, without the permission of the trademark owner, some companies or individuals use someone else's well-known trademark as a common name for a certain type of goods or services, or as a manufacturer's name or domain name, making the trademark indistinguishable from others. The common name, manufacturer name, and domain name of such goods or services will damage the distinctiveness of the trademark and cause the trademark to be diluted. The direct infringement object is the trademark, and the indirect infringement object is goodwill;

2. Sales infringement. It refers to the act of selling goods that infringe the exclusive rights of a registered trademark. Distributors are the intermediary between commodity producers and consumers and have the obligation to provide consumers with qualified commodities. If a dealer provides consumers with goods that infringe on the exclusive rights of others’ registered trademarks, it is undoubtedly helping the trademark infringer achieve its purpose and harming the rights and interests of the trademark registrant and consumers, so it is also defined as trademark infringement;

3. Reverse counterfeiting and infringement. Reverse counterfeiting infringement refers to the act of replacing the registered trademark without the consent of the trademark registrant and putting the goods with the replaced trademark back on the market. The reason why reverse counterfeiting constitutes trademark infringement is that there is an inseparable internal connection between the trademark and the goods it marks. This internal connection deepens with the expansion of trademark reputation and product reputation. The function of trademark rights is to maintain the stability and development of this relationship. Behavior that destroys this connection affects the normal function of the trademark and damages the trademark rights of others. In reverse counterfeiting, the perpetrator is not the end user of the goods. This behavior artificially separates the connection between the trademark and the goods, deprives others of the opportunity for registered trademarks to expand their reputation through further circulation, and affects consumers. The cognition of the trademark registrant causes the trademark registrant's economic interests to be unable to be fully realized, and damages the trademark owner's exclusive right to its registered trademark, which is a trademark infringement;

4. Other infringements. Other infringements refer to behaviors that cause damage to the registered trademark rights of others other than use infringement, sales infringement, and reverse counterfeiting infringement.

To sum up, trademark infringement often involves economic disputes. Most of the legal penalties are compensation, which often does not constitute a penalty, unless it constitutes a criminal case that requires a sentence. What are the requirements for court judgments or legal provisions for sentencing in cases of trademark infringement? If a trademark identical to the registered trademark is used on the same product without the permission of the registered trademark owner, if the circumstances are serious, the person shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years or criminal detention. , and shall be sentenced to a fine or solely; if the circumstances are particularly serious, the offender shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than seven years, and shall also be fined.

Legal basis:

Article 213 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China

The crime of counterfeiting a registered trademark without ownership of a registered trademark Anyone who uses the same trademark as his or her registered trademark on the same kind of goods or services without permission from another person shall, if the circumstances are serious, be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years and concurrently or solely with a fine; if the circumstances are particularly serious, he shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than ten years. , and fines