On July 31, 2020, the Beijing Haidian Court issued a first-instance judgment in the case of Phoenix TV and Phoenix.com suing the fake Phoenix media Phoenix News Agency. The court determined that "Phoenix News Agency" constituted trademark infringement and unfair competition. , and compensated 5 million yuan.
This is my country’s first media trademark infringement case.
Media trademarks are highly exposed and well-known, and they have strong dissemination and sensitivity. In other words, Phoenix News Agency (Phoenix Jiayi Culture Media Co., Ltd.) even dares to follow the famous media trademarks. They also used the banner of the Phoenix Group's media to recruit people, use the word "Phoenix" in their trademarks and trade names, and use the golden phoenix graphic LOGO, which is really a bit bold.
1. The origin of the infringement of "True and Fake Phoenix"
Phoenix Satellite TV, operated by Phoenix Group, has been on the air since March 1996 and is the most influential TV media among Chinese media. one.
Ifeng.com, formerly the official website of Phoenix TV founded in 1998, is a new media webpage with Internet information as its core and covering comprehensive wireless Internet services. It is the world's leading cross-platform network new media company.
Phoenix TV and Phoenix.com are the plaintiffs this time, claiming that both parties enjoy exclusive trademark rights to the related trademarks of Phoenix Satellite TV, Phoenix Satellite TV and Phoenix.com in accordance with the law. After the long-term operation and development of Phoenix Group, its registered trademarks of "Phoenix TV, Phoenix TV, and Phoenix.com" have become well-known domestic brands and enjoy high popularity among consumers.
Phoenix News Agency (Phoenix Jiayi Culture Media Co., Ltd.) has used ?Phoenix? and other logos, and like the Phoenix Group, it is also engaged in news communications, news reports, journalist services, program production and other services.
2. The court ruled: Stop the infringement and pay 5 million yuan in compensation
The distinctively identifiable part of the registered trademarks of the plaintiff and the defendant - "Phoenix" - has exactly the same glyph, pronunciation and meaning, and has already belonged to For highly similar trademarks, by comparing the compositional elements of the graphic and the overall structure of the combination of each element, the defendant's trademark and the trademark registered by the plaintiff constitute similar trademarks.
It caused the relevant public to be confused about the source of the relevant services, and infringed on the exclusive rights and use rights of the registered trademarks of the two plaintiffs. And the Phoenix Group name with the word "Phoenix" was used without authorization for false publicity, which constituted unfair competition.
In the end, the court determined that Phoenix News Agency (Phoenix Jiayi Culture Media Co., Ltd.) constituted infringement. The first-instance judgment required it to immediately stop infringing on the exclusive rights and use rights of the trademark, stop operating slogans during the publicity period, and stop operating in the publicity period. It issued a statement to eliminate the unfair competition behavior used in its enterprise and compensated economic losses of 5 million yuan.
3. How to avoid your trademark becoming a "similar trademark"
There have been many cases of trademarks "similar to famous brands" before, but this is the first case of trademarks similar to media trademarks. "This undesirable phenomenon is a reflection of the weak legal awareness of intellectual property rights in many enterprises in our country.
This not only requires enterprises to independently improve their legal awareness of intellectual property rights, but also improves their awareness of independent innovation. Enterprises must apply for original trademarks or purchase and use trademarks.
So, how can companies prevent the trademarks they apply for from becoming similar trademarks?