There is a saying in China: Blessings never come in pairs, misfortunes never come alone! After relevant media reported that Sony Ericsson suffered a global loss of US$387 million in the first quarter of 2009 and would lay off 2,000 employees worldwide, industry insiders once again broke the news that Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications Products (China) Co., Ltd. was once again involved in a trademark lawsuit in China. Losing the lawsuit will undoubtedly make things worse for Sony Ericsson, whose global performance is declining. The reporter called Mr. Fu Jianjun, general manager of Guangzhou Sony Ericsson Digital Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Sony Ericsson Digital) regarding the rumors of the trademark lawsuit, and received a formal reply from the other party.
Fu Jianjun said that on March 12, 2009, the Beijing Higher People’s Court issued an administrative judgment (2008) Gao Xingzhong Zi No. 717: 1: Annulling the Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People’s Court ( 2008) 1. Administrative Judgment No. 196 of Bank of China Chuzi; 2. Upholding the Trademark Review and Adjudication Committee of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce [2007] No. 11295 "Ruling on the "Sony Ericsson" Trademark Dispute No. 3492439. Three: This judgment is final. The Sony Ericsson trademark was eventually awarded to Guangzhou Sony Ericsson Digital Technology Co., Ltd.
At this point, the four-year dispute over the "Sony Ericsson" trademark between the national brand Sony Ericsson Digital and the international giant Sony Ericsson has finally been settled. In fact, the "grievances" between Sony Ericsson Digital and Sony Ericsson already happened a few years ago.
In September 2003, Liu Jianjia (currently chairman of Sony Ericsson Digital) applied to the State Trademark Office to register the "Sony Ericsson" trademark for the ninth category of products, covering digital electronic products such as MP3/MP4, telephones, and mobile phones. And was approved for registration on August 7, 2004. After registering the "Sony Ericsson" trademark, Liu Jianjia registered and established Guangzhou Sony Ericsson Digital Technology Co., Ltd. and Shenzhen Bao'an District Xixiang Sony Ericsson Digital Electronics Factory in Guangzhou and Shenzhen respectively in 2005 and 2006, focusing on MP3/MP4, etc. Digital industry.
Since the Chinese trademark registered by Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications Products (China) Co., Ltd. in China is "Sony Ericsson", in their view, the "Sony Ericsson" trademark registered by Sony Ericsson Digital is illegal, so Sony Ericsson hopes to take ownership of the Sony Ericsson trademark through various means, including negotiation, legal means, and media public opinion.
According to media reports, several units and individuals had communicated and negotiated with Sony Ericsson in 2005. Especially in 2006, it was most frequent. They once offered relatively high prices to Sony Ericsson Digital to transfer the "Sony Ericsson" trademark. However, he was flatly rejected by Liu Jianjia at that time. It is still unknown whether these units and individuals were entrusted by Sony Ericsson. Of course, the purpose of these units and individuals hoping to obtain the "Sony Ericsson" trademark through negotiation was ultimately frustrated because of Liu Jianjia's refusal.
In June 2005, Sony Ericsson submitted an application to the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board of the People's Republic of China and the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (hereinafter referred to as the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board), requesting the cancellation of Liu Jianjia's registration of the "Sony Ericsson" trademark. However, since there is insufficient evidence to prove that Sony Ericsson is the abbreviation of Sony Ericsson, according to the priority principle of the Trademark Law, Liu Jianjia is certainly the legal owner of the "Sony Ericsson" trademark, and Sony Ericsson's request was not supported by the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board. Moreover, the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board issued the Commercial Pingzi [2007] No. 11295 document "Regarding the "Sony Ericsson" Trademark Dispute No. 3492439" on November 28, 2007, clearly ruling that the "Sony Ericsson" trademark is owned by Liu Jianjia.
After negotiations and trademark re-examination failed, at the end of 2007, Sony Ericsson appealed to the Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People's Court, taking both the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board and Sony Ericsson to court. Sony Ericsson asked the court to revoke the TRAB ruling. In September 2008, the Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People's Court made a first-instance judgment requiring the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board to re-ruling the Sony Ericsson trademark registration.
In October 2008, the battle between the two parties over the Sony Ericsson trademark intensified.
Sony Ericsson was dissatisfied with the Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People's Court's judgment on "requiring the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board to re-ruling" and filed a lawsuit with the Beijing High People's Court, requesting that the Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People's Court's judgment be revoked. The Beijing Higher People's Court finally made the above judgment on March 12, 2009, after a hearing on December 17, 2008. At this point, the four-year Sony Ericsson trademark battle ended with the final victory of the national brand Sony Ericsson Digital.
Looking back on the road to rights protection in the past four years, Fu Jianjun, general manager of Sony Ericsson Digital, said: We have endured a lot of pressure and grievances, and have put in a lot of hard work and efforts. On the one hand, we have to engage in research and development, production, and open up the national market; on the other hand, we have to go all out to deal with lawsuits. Sometimes we have to face crazy public opinion attacks and malicious slander from certain media with malicious intentions. This may be the "growing pains" faced by all national brands.
In July 2007, when Sony Ericsson Digital was in full swing building channels and launching sales across the country, many print and online media outlets across the country, including Chongqing, Hubei, Shandong, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shanxi, etc., were almost there On the same day, there was a negative attack on Sony Ericsson Digital. This large-scale negative report that occurred simultaneously across the country cannot be ruled out as being carefully planned and specially manipulated by some people.
In the face of public opinion attacks from the media, Sony Ericsson Digital did not engage in unnecessary war of words. Instead, it strengthened its investment in research and development, production, channels, terminals and brand promotion, and won the market with excellent product quality. Winning the trust of channel agents and consumers. It achieved an annual growth rate of 400 that year, quickly entered the top ten in the industry, and won the title of "Top Ten Influential Brands in China's Digital Industry" in 2007. It became the fastest growing dark horse in China’s digital industry that year. Sony Ericsson Digital finally countered the malicious slander and attacks by its competitors with brilliant performance.
After the Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People’s Court made a ruling on the Sony Ericsson trademark dispute in September 2008, some media reported to the Trademark Review and Adjudication Review Board with harsh words such as “just sit idly by” and “turn a blind eye”. This kind of behavior is a very explicit provocation to the relevant departments of the Chinese government. To put it bluntly, it wants to put pressure on the relevant state departments through media and public opinion to achieve its own goals.
Fu Jianjun said that in order to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of national brands and the reputation of national brands, Sony Ericsson Digital has never filed an application with the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board and appealed to the Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People’s Court. We have never made any compromises to our competitors. We always believe that the law is fair and just, and the dignity of Chinese law is sacred and inviolable. The final verdict of the Beijing Higher People's Court also gave justice to the national brand Sony Ericsson Digital.
The Sony Ericsson trademark dispute is another intellectual property dispute between a local brand and an international giant after the Wahaha trademark battle. Although the industries are different, the result is the same. In the end, it is the national The brand's final victory heralds the true rise of national brands, which will greatly invigorate the national spirit and inspire people's confidence.