NEWS

From the "Anita Mui" was sued for infringement of trademark

Release time:

2021-12-14 11:02

Recently, the late diva Anita Mui's biographical film of the same name, "Anita Mui", is being screened in major theaters.

"Anita Mui" is a biopic film invested and produced by Anle Film Co., Ltd., directed by Liang Lemin, and starring Wang Danni, Gu Tianle, Lin Jiadong, and Miriam Yang, which interprets the legendary life of Anita Mui.

The film tells the legendary experience of Anita Mui in her life. With her dedication and talent, she slowly grew into a superstar and was awarded the "changeable queen". At present, the movie box office is soaring, has broken the music biography movie mainland box office record.
图片
However, there are many popular people. Even if Anita Mui has been gone for more than ten years, there are still some people who can't let go of their immediate interests. Behind the release of the film, a dispute is about to begin again.
At the beginning of this month, according to Hong Kong media reports, Mei Qiming, the eldest brother of Anita Mui, went to the court to sue the producer of "Anita Mui", claiming that he had applied for the registered trademarks of "Anita Mui" and "Anita Mui" since the death of Anita Mui, and maintained the ownership every ten years. Now he has formally filed a claim in the Hong Kong court.
图片
The petition mentioned that in the process of producing Anle Film Company, the film content and promotional materials used relevant trademarks, but without Mei Qiming's consent. As Anita Mui's brother and trademark holder, he believes that the Anle film has misled the public and misinterpreted the film as related to him, which in turn caused losses.
Mei Qiming asked the court to issue an injunction to prohibit Anle Film from continuing to infringe the trademark, and demanded that the defendant hand over all trademark infringing items to Mei Qiming and compensate for the damage.

The petition was written by Mei Qiming himself, claiming to have held two trademarks of "Anita Mui" and "Anita Mui" since November 2004, and to submit a defense trademark application at the end of 2018, covering movies, as well as clothing, stationery, electrical appliances, seminars, music, etc.

The company's investigation shows that the trademarks of "Anita Mui" and "Anita Mui" are indeed registered by "MUI KAI MING.
At present, the trademark holder is Anita Mui Memorial Co., Ltd. The trademark category is "precious metals and their alloys". The international classification covers 14 categories of jewelry and watches. Among them, the defensive trademark covers underwear, headphones, global positioning system (GPS), leather, stationery, electrical appliances, seminars, lectures or lectures, leisure center services, movies and precious metal products such as jewelry and jewelry.
It is worth noting that the current trademark has been invalid, the trademark process status for the expiration of the non-renewal of the cancellation of the trademark.
In response, Anle Film Co., Ltd., the producer of "Anita Mui", responded that since the preparation of the film, a legal team has been following up to deal with relevant legal issues, and the production of "Anita Mui" film has been carried out on a legal basis. The matter has now been referred to its legal team and there is no response at this stage.
A generation of singing diva is a peerless beauty, but after the curtain call, the afterlife has ended up in a chicken feather, which makes people sigh.
But back to the incident of the film being sued for infringement by Anita Mui's brother, we have no way of knowing the interest dispute and the final result. But how much do you know about the trademark related knowledge involved in this incident? Let's take a look at it.

What is a trademark?

A trademark is a mark that distinguishes goods or services between operators, consisting of words, graphics, letters, numbers, etc., or a combination of the above elements, which is significant. For trademarks approved and registered by the Trademark Office, the trademark registrant will have the right to exclusive use. If the trademark is a well-known trademark, it will be protected by cross-category trademark exclusive use rights.
The "trademark classification" mentioned above is to combine some goods with common attributes into one category for the needs of trademark retrieval, examination and management, and divide all goods and services into 45 categories, forming a trademark classification table-"classification of goods and services for trademark registration".
图片
A defensive trademark is a trademark in which the same trademark owner registers the same famous trademark on non-identical goods to prevent others from using the famous trademark and causing adverse effects. Defensive trademarks may not be used after registration, so they are generally not easy to be approved for registration. However, once the registration is successful, it is not subject to the restriction that it must be used in order to maintain the trademark. It is also believed that trademarks similar to brand-name trademarks, namely joint trademarks, are also defensive trademarks.

Trademark Value:

Trademark is an intangible asset of an enterprise. There is no fixed judgment on the value of the trademark. The value of the trademark will continue to appreciate with the development of the enterprise. The common value judgment depends on the popularity and influence of the trademark.
 

Do trademarks have to be registered successfully before they can be used?

In fact, the trademark law does not stipulate that trademarks must be registered before they can be used. In addition to tobacco products, trademarks must be compulsorily registered, and other trademarks can be used without registration. However, the use of unregistered trademarks is very risky. When an enterprise promotes its trademarks to fame, either the trademarks are registered by others, or they are used to sell low-quality products, and the corporate image will be damaged. And the use of unregistered trademarks is easy to cause trademark infringement, will bear the corresponding liability and compensation.
 

Can an individual apply for trademark registration?

Natural persons can also apply for trademarks, but they need to provide copies of valid identity documents such as business license, ID card and household registration certificate of individual industrial and commercial households.
 

Can a trademark be used permanently after registration?

The validity period of trademark use is only ten years, but it can be renewed. The trademark can be renewed within twelve months before the expiration of the term. If the renewal procedures are not completed, a six-month extension period can be granted. If no application is filed within the leniency period, the Trademark Office will cancel the application after the expiration of the period. Of course, if the trademark is improperly registered or disputed, even if the registration is successful, it may be invalidated; if the trademark is improperly used, it becomes the common name of the product, or if the trademark is not used for three years and is withdrawn, the trademark may be revoked.
 

How to use trademark registration marks?

When using a registered trademark, you can indicate "registered trademark" or registered mark on the goods, trademark packaging or other attachments. It should be noted that the registered mark should be used in the upper right corner or lower right corner of the trademark. At the same time, we should also pay attention to keeping the evidence of trademark use in case of emergency.

Trademark, anita mui, use, film, registration, goods, trademark registration, can, film