Without much to say, let’s go straight to the case!
Case 1:
Party A: Tiantianshun, a chemical washing company established in 2005. In 2008 and 2010 respectively, it obtained the exclusive license to use "JLW Jieli Wang" by signing a "Registered Trademark License Contract" with Shenzhen Jieli Wang. In 2010, it obtained the registered trademark "jieli" through application.
Party B: Nanfeng Group, a chemical company established in 1996. Since 2002, it has used art works containing the trademark involved in the packaging bags of its "Jieliwang" series of washing powder.
Nanfeng took the first step and took Tiantianshun to court, accusing him of infringing the right to reproduce and distribute works. In the same year, Tiantianshun also sued Nanfeng Group for infringement of its trademark rights.
In the end, both lawsuits ended in Nanfeng’s victory. Moreover, the core of the settlement of the two lawsuits is also the same.
Although Tiantianshun owns the trademark rights, it cannot provide evidence to prove that it obtained and used the trademark involved earlier than Nanfeng Group. That is, Tiantianshun's trademark has infringed the copyright of the previous Nanfeng Group.
Case 2:
Party A: In 2002, Su applied to the Trademark Office for the trademark "SUMMIT and Pictures" in Category 11 toilets and other categories .
Party B: New Pearl Company currently owns the well-known trademark "SUMMIT and Pictures" in 19 categories of ceramic tiles and other categories, and it has registered copyright for the trademark pattern.
The two parties went from the Trademark Office to the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board, and from the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board to the court. Regardless of whether it was successful or not, the Supreme People's Court put an end to the matter. The farce finally ended with the victory of New Pearl Company.
In this case, the most troubling point is the completion time of creation indicated on the copyright registration certificate of New Pearl.
Su and the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board raised objections to this bureau, but neither could provide contrary evidence for this certificate.
Xinmingzhu Company, however, provided evidence that newspapers reported on its works, thereby proving that it had prior copyright to the objectionable trademark.
Article 31 of the Trademark Law: Application for trademark registration shall not damage the existing prior rights of others, nor shall unfair means be used to preemptively register a trademark that has been used by others and has a certain influence.
When we talk about trademark rights and copyrights, they are all ways to protect intellectual property rights. In essence, there is no distinction between high and low. However, intellectual property rights are on a first-come, first-served basis, but what comes first is not necessarily the trademark or the copyright.
When it comes to areas of design such as graphics, there is overlap. The evidence for a trademark is relatively simple. Whoever registers it first owns it. At this time, the ownership of the copyright and the time when the copyright is confirmed often become the key points in resolving these trademark disputes.
Often the registration of copyright is always ignored, and it is very difficult to prove the right afterwards, which makes many trademark dispute cases extremely complicated.
According to the current style of our country's laws and regulations, in all aspects of evidence production, the evidence will be more convincing if the evidence comes from a government-certified certificate.
Then, it becomes a top priority to register the copyright as soon as the work is completed. Therefore, when the trademark you apply for registration is a pattern, or the trademark design is very stylish, be smart and be more conscious. Doing a good job in copyright filing is to nip problems in the bud, because one day a donkey might run out of the sheep and infringe on your rights; the other is to combine copyright and trademark rights to give your intellectual property an extra layer. protection.