On December 30, 2020, the Shanghai Second Intermediate People’s Court ruled in favor of Michael Jordan against Qiaodan Sports Co. (Qiaodan is the transliteration of Jordan into Chinese) (乔丹体育公司) over the use of Jordan’s Chinese name. The Court ruled that Qiadoan Sports Co. publicly apologize in newspapers and the Internet to clarify the relationship between the parties; stop using Qiaodan its in corporate name; stop using Qiaodan trademarks except for those that exceed the 5-year statute of limitations, in which …
Category: Case
Shanghai Higher People’s Court Upholds 6-Year Prison Term and 90 Million RMB Fine for Lego Chinese Copyright Infringer
On December 29, 2020, the Shanghai Higher People’s Court announced the upholding of a criminal conviction for infringing the copyright of Lego toys. The Shanghai Third Intermediate Court had sentenced 9 people to up to 6 years in prison and a 90 million RMB (~$13 million USD) fine. The group of 9 had sold over 300 million RMB of infringing products under the Lepin (乐拼) brand and had over 30 million RMB of infringing products stored ready for sale.
Beijing Intellectual Property Court Fines Three Litigants for Forging Evidence in Trademark Cases
On December 21, 2020, the Beijing Intellectual Property Court announced that on December 18, 2020, the Court ruled in several administrative trademark cases that the trademark registrants forged evidence to prove use in trademark cancellation proceedings. The registrants had provided fake tax invoices to prove use via the sales. However, the tax invoices didn’t match queries with the National Value-Added Tax Invoice Inspection Platform of the State Administration of Taxation. Accordingly, the Court reversed the earlier rulings based on the …
The China National Intellectual Property Administration Releases Guiding Cases for Administrative Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights
On December 15, 2020, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) released the First Batch of Guiding Cases for Administrative Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights (第一批知识产权行政执法指导案例). Administrative enforcement enables rights holders in China to petition administrative agencies to enforce their rights including issuing injunctions, seizing and destroying infringing goods and manufacturing equipment, and imposing fines on infringers. The First Batch includes 5 guiding cases for administrative enforcement of patents, trademarks, and integrated circuit layout designs.