A closely watched trademark case: luxury footwear brand Manolo Blahnik wins in China

British luxury footwear manufacturer Manolol...Brave (Manolo Blahnik）在和Our countryAfter a long-term lawsuit, businessman Fang Yuzhou was finally awarded by the Supreme People's Court.I...The country has the right to use its own brand name. The above decision has received widespread attention and has also exposed abuses in the trademark system that implements the principle of first application, andI...efforts by the national authorities to combat these acts.

In 2000,I...National Trademark Office (CTMO) approved the "Manolo & Blahnik" trademark applied for registration by Fang Yuzhou, which covers footwear. Soon after, Manolo...BraveThe CTMO objected, which was ultimately dismissed on the grounds that Manolo...Blahnika's luxury brand inI...The reputation of the national market cannot be proved before the date of the disputed trademark registration application. Since then, Manolo...Beranik went throughTwenty years of unsuccessful appeals. In the end, the Supreme People's Court made a favorable decision.HeJudgment: The trademark registered by Fang Yuzhou is invalid.

I...The initial implementation of China's trademark system was to apply first and accept first. . 1982Article 4 of the Trademark Law provides that:“Enterprises and institutions and individual industry and commerceHouseholdIf it is necessary to obtain the exclusive right to use a trademark for the goods it produces, manufactures, processes, selects or distributes, it shall apply to the Trademark Office for registration.”. In other words, the exclusive right of the trademark is vested in the person who first filed the application, whether or not he intends to use the trademark. However, the overall lack of requirements for the identity and intent of the applicant has led to many abuses, mainly trademark hoarding and squatting. In addition, unregistered trademarks, that is, trademarks used in the market and not officially registered with the Trademark Office, are not protected at all in the first place.

1993In 2012, the authorities amended the Trademark Law with the aim of curbing trademark registrations obtained by fraudulent or other improper means, allowing the Trademark Office to actively orToThe request of other units or individuals shall be revoked. It's the first step in fighting back against trademark squatters.

2001 Year 10 month,I...The country further got rid of the rigidity in the trademark system, and unregistered trademarks obtained (conditional) protection for the first time. New provisions have been added to the Trademark Law, with special provisions“A trademark applied for registration in respect of the same or similar goods is a reproduction,MoldImitation or translation of others not inI...Well-known trademarks registered in China, which are easy to cause confusion, shall not be registered and shall be prohibited from use.”. Therefore, not inI...The owner of a trademark registered in China mayI...The Chinese Trademark Office opposes the registration of similar trademarks, provided that it can be proved that(1)the trademark is indeed a reproduction, imitation or translation of an unregistered trademark, (2)An unregistered trademark is a well-known trademark in the case of a defense application, (3)Registration can indeed cause confusion.

2013year, the Trademark Law explicitly introduced the principle of good faith, and Article 7 stipulates that“Application for registration and use of trademarks shall follow the principle of good faith.”. In addition, malicious cybersquatting is largely ineffective, No.59 Article3 The provisions of the paragraph,“If, before the trademark registrant applies for trademark registration, another person has already used a trademark that is the same as or similar to the registered trademark and has certain influence on the same or similar goods before the trademark registrant, the owner of the exclusive right of the registered trademark has no right to prohibit the user from continuing to use the trademark within the original scope of use, but may require it to attach an appropriate distinguishing mark.”.

Continuing the above amendments,2019The Trademark Law was further improved in“A malicious trademark registration application not for the purpose of use shall be rejected.”. Where there is doubt as to the integrity of the trademark registrant, the Trademark Office may require it“Make an explanation”. Any third party may also file opposition or invalidation proceedings against a trademark that it believes is not applied for registration or registration for the purpose of use.

The Supreme People's Court recently in Manolo...BerraniThe judgment in the case against Fang Yuzhou clearly reflects how China's trademark system has changed from a radical first application system to a more balanced system, emphasizing that“Use”and“Integrity” ”And crack down on squatting and hoarding trademarks.