Trademark infringement incidents occur from time to time, and there are countless enterprises involved in trademark lawsuits because of trademark problems, which also reflects that more and more enterprises are aware of the importance of intellectual property rights. Ronghe Shaofang once had a trademark dispute with Maotai. A more dramatic scene is that in court, Shang Zhi, the chairman of Beijing Huijiu Liquor Company, an outsider, said that Guizhou Ronghe Shaofang Liquor Company, the defendant in this case, actually had nothing to do with Ronghe Shaofang. For a time, there were many mysteries in the court. Three professional liquor production and distribution enterprises, Kweichow Moutai, Ronghe Shaofang and Beijing Huijiu Liquor Industry, were intertwined and staged a "Rashomon" about Maotai.
This time, MAOTAI sued Ronghe Burning House because of the letter trademark "maotai". They had a heated debate about whether "MAOTAI" was a trademark or a place name. MAOTAI Distillery believes that the trademark No.726827 is legally owned by itself, and the defendant highlighted "maotai" on the package, so it should be considered that the defendant has infringed his trademark right. However, the defendant believes that "MAOTAIZHEN" is a landmark name and a method of using place names, which means that the product is produced in Maotai Town, Guizhou Province. In Ronghe Burning House's view, although MAOTAI has registered its trademark, according to Article 49 of the Trademark Law, "Maotai", as a landmark name, has the attribute of public resources, and all Maotai Town wineries have the right to use it, and should not be monopolized by one company. Therefore, the defendant has the right to properly use the place name according to law.
In this regard, Ronghe Shaofang thinks that the trademark No.284526 of Maotai Distillery does not specify the color. "Our cover pattern is also different from that of Maotai. theirs is black and white, while ours is color. Even if Maotai registers a color trademark, then their registration time is later than ours." The above-mentioned Ronghe Burning House told reporters, "We have highlighted the words" Ronghe Burning House "on the packaging boxes and bottles, which is obviously different from the products of Maotai Distillery and should not be considered misleading to the public."
However, in court, the attorney of Maotai Distillery stated that the plaintiff legally owned the exclusive right to use the trademark No.284526, and the defendant's trademark was enough to confuse the relevant public, and the defendant obviously used almost the same letters and patterns as the plaintiff, which constituted an approximation on the same commodity, infringing the plaintiff's exclusive right to use the trademark.
On the one hand, Kweichow Moutai sued Ronghe Shaofang for infringement, but it was taken out of the accusation that Maotai won the gold medal in Panama World Expo as false. On the other hand, a company named Maotai Town Ronghe Liquor Co., Ltd. was suddenly "killed" at the trial site, claiming that it was the inheritor of the authentic Ronghe brand.
At the trial site of Kweichow Moutai and Ronghe Shaofang, there were two spectators with "special identities": they came from Beijing Huijiu Liquor Co., Ltd., which is the national distributor of Ronghe Liquor. According to the distributor of Ronghe Liquor Industry, Ronghe Shaofang Co., Ltd. is only a company registered in Guiyang with the qualification of liquor sales, but it does not have the qualification and ability to produce Ronghe Shaofang liquor, let alone the qualification to represent the brand rights protection of Ronghe Shaofang.
"We are truly enterprises in Maotai Town, and have the registered trademark of Ronghe Shaofang, and they are not even qualified to produce wine." Shang Zhi, chairman of Beijing Huijiu Liquor Co., Ltd. said. Shang Zhi said that the defendant Guizhou Ronghe Burning House Co., Ltd. and the owner of the registered trademarks of Ronghe and Ronghe Burning House, renhuai city, Guizhou Province Ronghe Liquor Co., Ltd. are two completely independent legal persons, and they have nothing to do with each other.
"Guizhou Ronghe Shaofang Co., Ltd. has no certification of these two trademarks, and does not have the wine accompanying list of" Ronghe "and" Ronghe Shaofang "products. It is only a company with the qualification to sell drinks. We are going to fight counterfeiting next. " Shang Zhi said. Interestingly, the predecessor of Ronghe Liquor Co., Ltd., Maotai Town, renhuai city, Guizhou Province, was the original Fuqiang Distillery in Maotai Town, renhuai city, Guizhou Province, which was the agent manufacturer of Ronghe Burning House.
It is understood that Ronghe Burning House Co., Ltd. did apply for a registered trademark with the words "Ronghe Burning House" in 26, with the registration number of 515566, but the remarks column says "the trademark is invalid". At the end of November 27, some companies in Ronghe Liquor Industry of Maotai Town applied for the trademark of "Ronghe Burning House", which took effect on February 28, 21, and the exclusive right period was 1 years.
Although the dispute between Maotai and Ronghe has not been settled, it is believed that the trademark dispute between Maotai and Ronghe is only the tip of the iceberg among many trademark disputes, and trademark infringement cases occur frequently. Bajie Zhichan Trademark Transfer Network would like to remind entrepreneurs and enterprises that trademark issues should not be closed-door, and they should be cautious about trademark registration, or consult relevant professionals. Zhejiang Bajie Intellectual Property Trademark Transfer Network, a regular trademark agency registered by the Trademark Office, has been specialized for 17 years, hoping to help you! You can call the 24-hour customer service hotline, or visit Zhejiang to choose your favorite trademark!