Guangdong Market Supervision Department Announces Typical Cases of IPR Enforcement
In order to maintain a good environment for innovation and development, Guangdong market regulatory authorities have continuously strengthened the enforcement of intellectual property rights, and made every effort to carry out the "iron fist" action to investigate and handle cases in the field of people's livelihood. On May 21, the Market Supervision Bureau of Guangdong Province announced a number of typical cases of IPR enforcement. Among them, the infringement cases of well-known brands Xiaomi and Midea have attracted attention.
Case 1
According to the complaint of a law firm in Guangdong entrusted by the obligee Xiaomi Technology Co., Ltd., the Shenzhen Municipal Market Supervision Bureau filed an investigation on an e-commerce limited company in Shenzhen, a trade limited company in Shenzhen, and a trade limited company in Shenzhen in August 2021. After investigation, the three parties sold tablets in Tmall stores that they operated with the words "millet pie" in the title, which belongs to the act of using a trademark similar to its registered trademark on similar goods. In February 2023, the obligee filed a civil lawsuit against three parties. The Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court adopted the platform electronic sales data extracted by the Shenzhen Municipal Market Supervision Bureau, calculated the compensation amount based on a 30% profit rate and a 50% trademark contribution rate, and determined that the party involved maliciously infringed on the trademark rights of others. If the circumstances were serious, it would impose a punitive compensation equal to twice the amount of the award.
The above three parties violated the relevant provisions of the Trademark Law of the People's Republic of China and the Company Law of the People's Republic of China, and constituted trademark infringement and serious illegal acts endangering social and public interests in the name of the company. In May 2023, the Shenzhen Municipal Market Supervision Bureau will, in accordance with relevant regulations, impose an administrative penalty of fine and revocation of business license on the three parties.
Case II
In May 2023, the Market Supervision Bureau of Nanhai District, Foshan City, according to the obligee's report, inspected a refrigeration equipment limited company in Guangdong, and found that the company had purchased a batch of second-hand air conditioners for repair, commissioned others to make "Mede xin" (Editor's Note: Midea's brand logo is "Midea") related logos and cartons with "Mede xin" logo, After removing the original logo on the second-hand repaired air conditioner, the above logo will be affixed, and the air conditioner will be packaged with a carton marked with the above logo and sold as a new product. It is found that the party concerned, without the permission of Renmei Group Co., Ltd., the trademark registrant, uses a trademark similar to its registered trademark on the same product, which is likely to lead to confusion, The party concerned has not sold the air conditioner with "Mede xin" logo, and the illegal business volume is 278401 yuan. The party concerned purchases the second-hand repaired air conditioners for simple processing and then sells them as new air conditioners. The new air conditioners mentioned above belong to the counterfeit and shoddy goods within the meaning of the Regulations of Guangdong Province on Investigating and Handling the Illegal Acts of Production and Sales of Counterfeit and shoddy Goods.
The party violated the relevant provisions of the Regulations of Guangdong Province on the Investigation and Punishment of the Illegal Acts of Production and Sale of Counterfeit and Inferior Commodities and the Trademark Law of the People's Republic of China, which constituted trademark infringement and the production and sale of counterfeit and inferior commodities. Foshan Nanhai District Market Supervision Bureau, in accordance with the relevant provisions, imposed an administrative penalty of confiscating the infringing commodities and imposing a fine on the party.
