The Xihua County Xiaoyao Town Hot and Spicy Soup Association sued more than 50 hot and spicy soup restaurants in Jiaozuo City to the court. The reason for the lawsuit of the Xihua County Xiaoyao Town Hot and Spicy Soup Association is: This hot and spicy soup restaurant in Jiaozuo City More than 50 Hu spicy soup restaurants have used the "Xiaoyao Town" trademark without their permission. More than 50 spicy hot soup restaurants have been on hot searches for using the word Xiaoyao Town. It is reported that 40 or 50 Hu spicy soup shops in Xiaoyao Town in Jiaozuo suddenly received court summons and were sued for RMB 30,000 to RMB 50,000 due to infringement!

Businesses like Jiaozuo can’t understand this very much. “There are so many stores in Henan, Zhengzhou, Pingdingshan, Luohe... If we talk about infringement, there are not just these hundreds, but thousands or even tens of thousands of them. Yes, do you have to charge this fee? Isn’t this cutting leeks?”

The Hu Spicy Soup Association of Xiaoyao Town, Xihua County said that there is no intention to cut leeks. In fact, "Xiaoyao Town" registered a trademark as early as 2003. Before, it was managed laissez-faire without standardized operations. This year, unified rights protection began. Although it seems reasonable, will merchants buy into this approach?

Over the past thirty years, intellectual property concepts such as trademark rights, patent rights, and designs have gradually become popular and have become basic knowledge that businesses entering the market should have. From the perspective of intellectual property protection, if the Xiaoyao Town Hu Hot Soup Association does legally own the trademark "Xiaoyao Town", they naturally have the right to resort to justice to safeguard their legitimate rights and interests.

The Hu Hot Soup Association of Xiaoyao Town, Xihua County told these shop owners that if the matter is resolved privately, the shop owners can compensate them 5,000 yuan; if they still want to continue to use the three "Xiaoyao Town" Word, each store should pay them a management fee of 1,000 yuan per year, otherwise, they will wait for the court's ruling.

Therefore, before registering a trademark, you must conduct a search for similar trademarks. A trademark is the external expression of a brand. Whether it is a large company or a small store, you should conduct a trademark search to find out whether there is an identical or similar prior trademark. Doing so will greatly reduce the risk of trademark registration.