As former partners, they have turned against each other over the trademark and have faced off in court many times. This refers to Jiangxiaobai Company and Jiangjin Distillery. The two parties are fighting for the "Jiangxiaobai" trademark. In addition to fighting for many years, the brand dispute between Jiangxiaobai Company and Jiangjin Distillery has made new progress recently.

On January 6, Jiangxiaobai Company issued a statement stating that the Supreme People’s Court ruled that Jiangxiaobai Company won the case.

The "Jiang Xiaobai" trademark causes disputes

It is understood that the dispute is caused by the "Jiang Xiaobai" trademark in Class 10325554, Class 33 (hereinafter referred to as the disputed trademark). Data from the China Trademark Network shows that the trademark in dispute applied for registration on December 19, 2011, and was approved for registration on February 21, 2013. It was approved for use in Class 33 "wine (beverages), alcoholic beverages (except beer), appetizers" Liquor, soju, distilled alcoholic beverages, cider" and other products.

The original applicant for the disputed trademark was Chengdu Geshang Advertising Company. The trademark was transferred to New Blueprint Company on December 6, 2012. The former legal representative of New Blueprint Company was Tao Shiquan (Jiang Xiao). Founder Bai). On June 6, 2016, the trademark in dispute was transferred to Jiangxiaobai Company.

In order to prevent the registration of the disputed trademark, Jiangjin Winery also filed a trademark objection during the preliminary announcement period, but it was unsuccessful. When the objection failed, Jiangjin Winery filed for invalidation. Since then, Jiangxiaobai Company and Jiangjin Distillery have repeatedly fought over the disputed trademark.

First Round

On May 30, 2016, Jiangjin Winery filed a request for invalidation of the disputed trademark with the original Trademark Review and Adjudication Board (hereinafter referred to as the original Trademark Review and Adjudication Board).

After trial, the original Trademark Review and Adjudication Board ruled that the disputed trademark was invalid. In this round, Jiangjin Winery won.

The original Trademark Review and Adjudication Board believed that the registration of the disputed trademark had constituted a situation in which registration was not allowed and use was prohibited under Article 15 of the Trademark Law amended in 2001.

Second Round

Jiangxiaobai Company was dissatisfied with the ruling of the original Trademark Review and Adjudication Board, and filed an administrative lawsuit with the Beijing Intellectual Property Court within the statutory time limit, requesting to revoke the ruling in question and order Order the original Trademark Review and Adjudication Board to make a new ruling.

After hearing the case, the Beijing Intellectual Property Court made a first-instance judgment, revoking the original Trademark Review and Adjudication Board ruling and ordering the original Trademark Review and Adjudication Board to make a new ruling. In the second round, Jiangxiaobai Company won.

The third round

This time the original Trademark Review and Adjudication Board and Jiangjin Winery were dissatisfied and appealed to the Beijing Higher People’s Court.

After a trial, the Beijing Higher People’s Court made a second-instance judgment on November 22, 2018, revoking the first-instance judgment of the Beijing Intellectual Property Court and rejecting Jiangxiaobai Company’s lawsuit. In the third round, Jiangjin Winery won.

The fourth round

Jiangxiaobai Company then filed an application for retrial with the Supreme People’s Court. The Supreme People's Court held that before the application date of the disputed trademark, the "Jiangxiaobai" trademark was not the trademark of Jiangjin Winery. According to the customized product sales contract, Jiangjin Winery had no rights to the product concept, product concept, and other features of the customized products except for its registered trademark "Jijiang". Advertising terms, etc. do not enjoy intellectual property rights. New Blueprint Company’s application for registration of the trademark in dispute did not infringe upon the legitimate rights and interests of Jiangjin Winery and did not violate Article 15 of the 2001 Trademark Law.

In the end, the Supreme People's Court made a retrial judgment after a trial, revoked the second-instance judgment of the Beijing Higher People's Court, and upheld the first-instance judgment of the Beijing Intellectual Property Court.

There is no doubt that Jiang Xiaobai Company won the final victory in the fourth round.

With the Supreme People’s Court’s ruling, the “Jiang Xiaobai” trademark dispute has finally come to an end. In fact, the trademark dispute between Jiangxiaobai Company and Jiangjin Distillery goes far beyond this.

On September 5, 2017, Jiangjin Distillery filed a request for invalidation of the trademark No. 11946689 "Jiang Xiaobai and Pictures" under the name of Jiang Xiaobai Company.

On September 5, 2017, Jiangjin Distillery filed a request for invalidation of the trademark No. 10563081 "I am Jiang Xiaobai and Picture" under the name of Jiang Xiaobai Company.

On December 13, 2017, Jiangjin Distillery filed an invalidation declaration against the trademark No. 12065938 "Jiangji Xiaobai" under the name of Jiangxiaobai Company.

It can be seen that the trademark dispute between Jiangxiaobai Company and Jiangjin Distillery will continue for a long time.

In recent years, more and more companies have been involved in a series of trademark disputes. Trademark disputes among enterprises are becoming more and more intense and frequent. On the one hand, this shows that enterprises are increasingly aware of trademark protection. On the other hand, it highlights the importance of trademarks to enterprise development.

In recent years, visible trademark disputes and trademark infringement cases have emerged in an endless stream, which shows that enterprises have an increasingly high awareness of trademark protection and brand strategy. At the same time, it also highlights the importance of trademarks to corporate development. Otherwise, why would you spend several years fighting a lawsuit for a trademark? For more trademark information, welcome to visit Bajie Intellectual Property Trademark Transfer Network!