In a decision dated July 14, 2020, the Beijing Higher People’s Court affirmed the cancellation of Shanghai Qualcomm Semiconductor Co., Ltd.’s (上海高通半导体有限公司) trademark 4305050 for “高通” (Gao Tong, the name of Qualcomm in Chinese). This trademark is one of four subject to civil litigation by Shanghai Qualcomm against U.S. Qualcomm. In April 2014, Shanghai Qualcomm initiated a trademark infringement and unfair competition lawsuit against Qualcomm in the Shanghai High People’s Court, claiming that Qualcomm infringed its trademark rights, and requested …
Category: Trademarks
Under Armour Defeats Uncle Martian at China’s Supreme People’s Court in Trademark Battle
In a decision dated July 17, 2020, China’s Supreme People’s Court ruled for Under Armour, Inc. against Fujian Tingfeilong Sporting Goods Co., Ltd. (福建省廷飞龙体育用品有限公司) for trademark infringement and unfair competition. Under Armour was founded in 1996 and as of 2018 had almost $5 billion USD in annual revenue selling sportswear, such as clothing and running shoes. In contrast, Tingfeilong launched the brand “Uncle Martian” in 2016 in China also in the sportswear field. As can be seen below, the Uncle …
China Releases Patent Filing Data for First Half of 2020 Showing Full Recovery from Coronavirus-Induced Drop
In a press conference on July 9, 2020, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) released high-level patent filing data for the first half of 2020. Highlights included 683 thousand invention patents filed, 217 thousand invention patents grants, and 29 thousand Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) applications were filed. The number of Chinese invention patent applications now slightly exceed 2019 year on year (649,129 invention patent applications were filed in H1 2019) showing full recovery from the prior drop in filings …
China’s State Administration for Market Regulation Releases National Plan to Combat Intellectual Property Infringement
On June 5, 2020 China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), which regulates market competition, monopolies, intellectual property, and drug safety, released a national plan to combat intellectual property infringement. The plan is officially entitled “Key Points of the National Work to Crack Down on Intellectual Property Infringement and the Production and Sale of Counterfeit and Inferior Commodities in 2020.” The plan lists 35 points in 6 areas covering trademark, patent, copyright, and trade secret protection and makes special emphasis …