1——In order to get compensation for "Belle" infringement, it is better for self-employed businesses to create their own brands

Instead of infringing other people's trademarks, why not create their own brands? Recently, a well-known domestic shoe trademark Lihua Shoes Trading Co., Ltd. (Lihua Company), the right owner of "Belle", filed a second-instance investigation in Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court against a self-employed person in Nanshan District for trademark infringement. Self-employed individuals and small businesses were sued by well-known companies for trademark infringement. It is no longer uncommon for companies to go to court, and this has also sounded the alarm on the business practices of some self-employed individuals and small businesses. Abuse of the "Belle" trademark leads to lawsuits

It is understood that Lihua Company is the trademark owner of the three trademarks "Belle", "BELLE" and "BeLLE", among which "Belle" and "BELLE" have also been recognized It is a well-known trademark in China.

According to Lihua Company’s complaint, Feng’s store in Nanshan District has been selling large quantities of footwear products in wholesale and retail manner that infringe Lihua Company’s exclusive rights to the above-mentioned trademarks, that is, the shoes sold by the store These products were not produced under the authorization of Lihua Company, but they used trademarks such as "Belle", "BELLE" and "BeLLE", which seriously infringed on Lihua Company's exclusive trademark rights. Lihua Company secured the evidence against the infringement of the individual store on May 31 last year. A notary from the Shenzhen Notary Office and an agent entrusted by Lihua Company went to the individual store to purchase two pairs of "Belle" women's shoes, and obtained them on the spot. Sales receipts, POS slips and VIP cards were sold, and the notary sealed the purchased items.

Later, Lihua Company sued Yang, the individual store owner, to the Nanshan Court, demanding that Yang immediately stop infringing on the exclusive rights to trademarks, pay 50,000 yuan in compensation, and bear litigation costs. Lihua Company also filed a lawsuit against Yang in Futian Court because Yang had the same behavior at another store in Futian District. The individual store also admitted the infringement

When the first instance of the Nanshan Court was held, Yang did not appear in court. The first instance trial held that according to the Trademark Law, "using a trademark that is identical or similar to the registered trademark on the same or similar goods without the permission of the trademark registrant" and "selling goods that infringe the exclusive rights of a registered trademark" The first instance held that the women's shoes sold in individual stores prominently used the same trademark logo as "BELLE" and "BeLLE" of Lihua Company, and infringed the registered trademark without the permission of Lihua Company. Exclusive rights. Accordingly, the Nanshan Court of first instance ruled that Yang should immediately stop selling the infringing goods and decided to pay Yang a compensation of 15,000 yuan. After the first instance verdict, Yang appealed. When the second trial opened yesterday, both parties appointed attorneys to appear in court. According to what was learned in court, the lawsuit in Futian District also ordered Yang to pay 15,000 yuan in compensation, and Yang also appealed.

During the court session yesterday, Yang admitted that his behavior was infringing, but at the same time believed that the shoes had a legal source and were imported from a company in Guangzhou, so they could be exempted from liability for compensation; at the same time, Lihua Company sold goods in Futian and Nanshan at the same time To file a lawsuit is to file the same lawsuit and claim repeatedly.

Lihua Company said that Yang could not provide evidence to prove that the infringing women's shoes had a "legal source". Even if the goods were purchased from a company in Guangzhou, it could only mean that they were infringing goods. The source is still illegal. Regarding the claim of "duplicate litigation," Lihua Shoes said that although the lawsuits were all filed against Yang, they represented two individual stores and were two independent entities.

Yesterday both parties expressed their willingness to mediate, but failed to reach mediation in court. The case is still pending.

2——Big names are also looking at the trademark infringement of Septwolves by bigger brands

On the morning of April 27, the Beijing Intermediate People’s Court first heard that Septwolves infringed on Keqi’s trademark exclusive rights. And compensate Keqi Company 200,000 yuan. The plaintiff is the right holder of the world-famous clothing and accessories brand "COACH" and has registered its graphic trademark. The plaintiff claimed that Septwolves used the Keqi trademark on its products and shoes without authorization and sold them in many cities across the country, which constituted trademark infringement.

Septwolves argued that the pattern was used for decoration, and its main function was not to distinguish the source of the goods. It was not a symbolic use and therefore did not constitute infringement. In addition, "Seven Wolves" prominently uses the "September Wolves" trademark. Finally, the court held that the use of the pattern by "Septwolves" would cause misunderstanding of the trademark. It was obvious that the combination of the C letters of "Septwolves" formed the same pattern as the plaintiff Keqi Company's registered trademark involved in the case, and therefore infringed upon the exclusive right to use the trademark. .

In recent years, there have been many cases of imitating famous brands or imitating famous brands, infringing on other people's exclusive rights to trademarks and brands, and trying to take a shortcut to make money. However, it is relatively rare for a well-known domestic brand to imitate an international brand. The paradox that arises in the Chinese market is that consumers like foreign brands. Companies just like to imitate foreign brands and don’t want to put in the effort to create brands. Therefore, although it is a domestic product, it must be closely related to foreign brands. However, our local brands have fallen into a trough and have been unable to grow. The underlying purpose of promoting the prosperity of the trademark transfer market is to hope that Chinese enterprises can develop their own culture, build their own trademark brands, and have their own trademark stories. You can’t always imitate and never surpass