Case Overview:

West Lake Longjing is a green tea produced in Longjing Village, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, and is one of the top ten famous teas in China. The West Lake Longjing trademark refers to the "West Lake Longjing" trademark registered by Hangzhou West Lake Longjing Tea Factory, which is known as one of the representatives of Chinese green tea. In recent years, as the popularity of West Lake Longjing has gradually increased, trademark infringement issues have gradually surfaced, causing great trouble to the healthy development of the West Lake Longjing tea industry.

Infringement cases:

1. Henan Longjing criminal infringement case

In 2018, Henan Province seized a West Lake Longjing trademark infringement case, and the defendant purchased related products online trademark, and sold tea under the name of counterfeiting the West Lake Longjing brand, involving a total amount of more than 70,000 yuan. In the end, the case was solved as a criminal infringement.

2. Hunan green tea was infringed

In 2019, a tea company in Hunan was exposed as suspected of infringing the West Lake Longjing trademark. The green tea it produced was accused of violating relevant trademark regulations, and the packaging and The trademark design of West Lake Longjing is highly similar. After investigation, the company involved used the "West Lake Longjing" trademark without authorization and was eventually forced to stop sales.

3. Douyin live broadcast trademark infringement case

In 2020, a batch of green tea sold by a Douyin anchor in a live broadcast was reported to be suspected of infringing the West Lake Longjing trademark, and the related video was reported by many tea industry The association cited it and attracted widespread attention from society. After verification, the brand and packaging design used by the anchor were highly similar to the West Lake Longjing trademark, and he was eventually forced to stop live broadcasting and remove related products.

Case analysis:

As consumers pay more attention to the quality, brand and cultural connotation of tea, the competition in the tea market becomes increasingly fierce, and the issue of trademark infringement in this competition also increases. increase. As a pearl in the green tea industry, the West Lake Longjing trademark has experienced frequent infringement issues, indicating that there are still certain weaknesses in the protection and management of iconic trademarks. The infringement of the West Lake Longjing trademark mainly focuses on the following aspects:

1. Counterfeit trademarks. In order to cater to the needs of consumers and pursue quick profits, many businesses will label their products as "West Lake Longjing" to attract consumers' attention.

2. Similar trademarks. In order to avoid being infringed upon by directly using the West Lake Longjing trademark, some businesses will imitate or change their trademarks to make them highly similar to the West Lake Longjing trademark, which may still constitute trademark infringement.

3. Use new media sales. For example, on short video live broadcast platforms in recent years, some merchants will mark the live broadcast title with its packaging and green tea characteristics, and vigorously promote it to gain more attention and consumers to place orders.

The infringement of the West Lake Longjing trademark will not only cause superficial economic losses to the West Lake Longjing tea industry, but will also have a negative impact on the brand image and popularity of the tea, and may even form a "copycat" phenomenon. The bad business culture affects the development and image of the tea industry. Therefore, in response to the infringement of the West Lake Longjing trademark, relevant departments should establish a more complete legal system to protect the rights and interests of tea brands and the safety of consumers. At the same time, consumers must make various distinctions through correct channels and purchase healthy, high-quality, and regular green tea products.