Beijing Creative Mackey Plus Information Consulting Co., Ltd. (北京创意麦奇佳偶信息咨询有限公司, hereinafter Mackey English) sued the Beijing Chaoyang District Market Supervision Administration (北京市朝阳区市场监督管理局) in the Chaoyang District People’s Court of Beijing for imposing a 31 million RMB fine (~$4.38 million USD) for trademark infringement and the Beijing Market Supervision Administration (北京市市场监督管理局) for affirming the fine after already paying damages for infringement in a civil trial. Under the Chinese trademark law, trademark infringers can be subject to both civil liability and administrative penalty.
New Balance Scores Chinese Unfair Competition Victory Against New Barlun
On April 16, 2020, the Shanghai Pudong New District People’s Court ruled for New Balance Trading (China) Co., Ltd. (新百伦贸易（中国）有限公司, hereinafter New Balance) against Niu Ba Lun (China) Co., Ltd. (纽巴伦（中国）有限公司, hereinafter, New Barlun), awarding 10.8 million RMB (about $1.53 million USD) for unfair competition.
Domestic Chinese Patent Filings Surge as Coronavirus Lockdowns End in March 2020
The China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) released 2020 Quarter 1 statistics showing a 9.5% jump in invention patent application filings in March 2020 versus March 2019. However, filings are still down 3.6% for the year versus Q1 of 2019. With three quarters remaining, China may still catch up for the year.
Upcoming Webinar on Expediting Patent Examination in China
There are multiple routes to expedite examination of a Chinese patent application besides the Patent Prosecution Highway. In this upcoming webinar, Schwegman’s Director of China Intellectual Property Practice Aaron Wininger will discuss the little-known Prioritized Examination program, the Patent Prosecution Highway, and other programs and strategies to get a faster patent grant in China. A live question-and-answer session follows. Sign up today for this insightful presentation. Date: Thursday, April 23, 2020 Time: 1:00 PM CT Cost: Free Register here: https://www3.slwip.com/international-ip-episode-06