When it comes to Zhen Kung Fu, in addition to the name of its Chinese fast food, what is more eye-catching is its trademark image. The icon resembles Bruce Lee, coupled with the three words "real Kung Fu", it is easy to think of Bruce Lee. But in fact, "real kung fu" has nothing to do with Bruce Lee.
The logo of "True Kung Fu" looks very much like the superstar Bruce Lee
As we all know, the logo of the domestic Chinese fast food chain True Kung Fu is a kung fu image in yellow clothes, which looks particularly like the Kung Fu superstar Bruce Lee. Kung Fu style, relying on the brand effect, Zhen Kung Fu has become the giant of domestic Chinese fast food chain companies in less than ten years!
Bruce Lee’s daughter was confused after seeing this LOGO. She thought, isn’t this the image of my father? His father has been dead for so many years, but there are still people using his father’s image to make plans. He made a lot of money, but he didn't even say hello. This made Long Nu very angry, so she directly took the real Kung Fu Fast Food Restaurant to court and made three demands: first, stop the infringement, second, pay compensation of 210 million, and third, He clarified in the media for ninety consecutive days that the fast food restaurant has nothing to do with Bruce Lee!
When I received the lawsuit, I had to respond with real skills. I argued that the logo did not specifically refer to Bruce Lee, but was just a handsome guy in yellow clothes posing with skill. The person in yellow clothes There are so many people doing Kung Fu POSE in the park. You can't say that everyone is Bruce Lee. The reasons seem grand and sufficient, and they actually won the lawsuit. The Dragon Girl got nothing in the lawsuit!
Zhen Kung Fu became famous because of Bruce Lee
The predecessor of Zhen Kung Fu was "168 Dessert House" founded in 1990, and the founder was Pan Yuhai. In 1994, Pan Yuhai's sister Pan Minfeng and her brother-in-law Cai Dabiao joined for 40,000 yuan. The dessert shop expanded into a steamed food shop selling porridge, noodles and noodles, and was named "168 Steamed Food Fast Food Restaurant", which was later renamed "Double Seeds".
In 2004, Double Seeds found marketing planner Ye Maozhong for 4 million yuan and invited him to plan the brand image for Double Seeds. The new brand planned by Ye Maozhong for Two Seeds is "Real Kung Fu" and uses a kung fu image that resembles Bruce Lee. True Kung Fu was an instant hit as expected. Data show that by the end of 2005, Zhen Kung Fu's 100th directly-operated chain store opened in Guangzhou, which also earned it the reputation of "China's No. 1 Chinese Fast Food Chain" brand.
In 2006, Zhenkongfu began to prepare for listing. However, at this time, real Kung Fu began to fight among themselves. Cai Dabiao, one of the founding team members, is married to Pan Minfeng, Pan Yuhai’s sister. The marriage breakdown between Cai Dabiao and Pan Minfeng affected real kung fu. Since then, there has been no progress in the listing of Zhen Kung Fu. In 2014, Cai Dabiao was sentenced to 14 years in prison for official embezzlement and misappropriation of funds, and was ordered to have his property confiscated RMB 1 million. But "a skinny camel is bigger than a horse". Although Zhen Kung Fu's enthusiasm has been greatly reduced due to this, it is still a company with a revenue of tens of billions. According to Jiemian News, Zhen Kung Fu now has more than 600 directly operated stores across the country, with revenue exceeding 5 billion.
Why can’t Bruce Lee’s daughter win the lawsuit?
As far as the content of the lawsuit filed by Bruce Lee Company is concerned, Zhen Kung Fu was sued for infringement for using an icon that resembled Bruce Lee’s image. The right directly related to his claim is the right of portrait. “The right of portrait is a legal right and belongs to a natural person. The exclusive rights based on one’s own image, and the commercial use of other people’s portraits requires the consent of the parties concerned, otherwise it will constitute infringement.”
“Bruce Lee is a famous public figure, and the icons used in real kung fu are. It is Bruce Lee's classic martial arts action, embodies Bruce Lee's personal characteristics, and has a certain degree of recognizability. In addition, its trademark is "True Kung Fu", which makes it easy for the general public to associate "True Kung Fu" with Bruce Lee's personal appearance. There is a risk of being found to have violated the right of portrait," Yang Baoquan said.
In addition, Yang Baoquan added that portrait rights belong to personality rights among personal rights, starting from birth and ending at death. Personality rights are exclusive rights. In principle, they can only be enjoyed by the right holder and cannot be transferred, abandoned or inherited. However, the 2001 "Interpretation on Several Issues Concerning the Determination of Liability for Mental Damage in Civil Torts" clearly stipulates that close relatives of the deceased have the right to sue for mental suffering caused by others' "infringement of the name, likeness, reputation, and honor of the deceased."
"There is a greater risk that Real Kung Fu will be found to have infringed the rights and interests related to Bruce Lee's portrait, and the company has a greater risk of losing the lawsuit." Yang Baoquan said.