On March 4, 2021, the Shanghai High People’s Court announced a ruling in favor of the Italian fashion brand Fendi Co., Ltd., which was established in 1925 and later acquired by LVMH Group. Fendi had sued Pioneer Capital Outlets (Kunshan) Commercial Development Co., Ltd. (首创奥特莱斯（昆山）商业开发有限公司) and Shanghai Yilang International Trade Co., Ltd. (上海益朗国际贸易有限公司) for trademark infringement and unfair competition over the use of the Fendi name on storefronts and marketing material. Despite only reselling authentic Fendi products, the Court found …
Category: Trademarks
China’s Supreme People’s Court Issues Law Interpretation for Intellectual Property Infringement
China’s Supreme People’s Court released and effective on March 3, 2021 the Interpretation of the Supreme People’s Court on the Application of Punitive Damages to the Trial of Civil Cases of Infringement of Intellectual Property Rights (最高人民法院关于审理侵害知识产权民事案件适用惩罚性赔偿的解释) (法释〔2021〕4号). The Interpretation defines when a plaintiff may request punitive damages in civil intellectual property infringement cases; how People’s Courts should determine if punitive damages should be awarded; and how People’s Courts should calculate the amount of punitive damages. Note that no defenses …
New Balance Fails to Invalidate Chinese New Balance Trademark at Beijing Higher People’s Court
In a decision dated February 9, 2021 and first reported by 知识产权界, New Balance has failed on appeal to invalidate a Chinese trademark that is a transliteration of its name. Specifically, New Balance had attempted to invalidate the mark 新百伦 (4100879 in class 25) to Guangzhou New Balance Enterprise Management Co., Ltd. (广州新百伦企业管理有限公司) first at the former Trademark Office of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (now China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA)), then at the Beijing Intellectual Property Court, …
Burberry Wins Preliminary Injunction Against Baneberry at Suzhou, China’s Intermediate People’s Court for Trademark Infringement
On February 19, 2021, the Suzhou Intermediate People’s Court announced it had awarded a preliminary injunction to Burberry against Xinboli Trading (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. (新帛利商贸（上海）有限公司), owner of Chinese brand Baneberry, for trademark infringement. Burberry is an iconic British fashion brand founded in 1856 while Baneberry is a fast-growing Chinese brand with 40 physical stores opened in China in the last year and a half.