On December 15, 2022, the Beijing Intellectual Property Court announced that Mast-Jägermeister SE was awarded 10 million RMB, an injunction and apology from Shengluo Company (Qingdao) Wine Co., Ltd. (简称圣罗拉公司), Hefei Puyuan Commerce & Trade Co., Ltd. (合肥葡园商贸有限公司), and Chang XX for trademark infringement and unfair competition. The defendants manufactured liqueur and used the logos “野格哈古雷斯” (Yege Ha Gu Lei) and “YEGO HUNTER” as well as deer head graphics on labels affixed to the liqueur bottles.
Category: Unfair Competition
NetEase Wins 50 Million RMB & Injunction on Appeal in Minecraft Infringement Litigation at the Guangdong Higher People’s Court
On November 30, 2022, the Guangdong Higher People’s Court announced that NetEase was awarded 50 million RMB (over $7 million USD) and an injunction in an unfair competition case against Shenzhen Mini Play Company (深圳迷你玩公司) involving Minecraft and Mini Play’s similar sandbox game Mini World (迷你世界). NetEase has the exclusive right to operate Minecraft in China since 2016. This is believed to be the highest damages award in China for game infringement.
China’s Supreme People’s Court Releases Typical Anti-Unfair Competition Cases of People’s Courts – 2022
On November 17, 2022 the Supreme People’s Court (SPC) of China held a press conference announcing the release of Typical Anti-Unfair Competition Cases of People’s Courts (人民法院反不正当竞争典型案例). Per the SPC, one of the main goal of the release is “strengthen the judicial protection of trade secrets and unify the standards of legal application” as two of the cases involved trade secret misappropriation – one in the pharma space and one in the semiconductor space.
Shanghai Intellectual Property Court: Continued Trademark Infringement After Notice Can Lead to Punitive Damages
The Shanghai Intellectual Property Court affirmed a lower court’s judgement awarding Huayi Brothers (华谊兄弟公司) punitive damages for trademark infringement since the defendant, Huayi Cinema Era (某时代华谊影城), continued infringing after being put on notice via a cease and desist letter. The Shanghai IP Court also affirmed an injunction and a requirement for Huayi Cinema Era to change its name.