Recently, the topic of "The Baodao glasses store you entered may not be 'Baodao glasses'" has aroused hot discussion, and the trademark infringement dispute of "Baodao" has once again entered the public awareness. Centered on one of the disputes, the Beijing High People's Court recently ruled that Beijing Baojindao Glasses Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Baojindao Company) infringed the right to exclusive use of the trademark of Jinghua Baodao (Beijing) Glasses Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Baodao Company) and constituted unfair competition.

In August 2010, Baodao Company obtained the trademark No. 1394775 and No. 3110047 registered by Taiwan Baodao Optical Co., Ltd., and the trademark No. 772859 registered by Jiangsu Orient Optical Co., Ltd., which is the exclusive right to use in the service of optical shops in mainland China. Currently, Baodao Company has thousands of stores.

In January 2020, Baojindao Company filed a civil lawsuit to Dongcheng District People's Court of Beijing on the grounds that Baojindao Company arbitrarily used the word "Baojindao" on the front door of its glasses store and the background wall of the counter in the store, which infringed its exclusive right to use the trademark, and registered "Baojindao" as the company name, which constituted unfair competition. After the trial, the court ruled that Baojindao Company stop the infringement, change the name of the enterprise, and compensate Baodao Company 46,000 yuan.

On March 3 this year, the Supreme People's Court issued the Interpretation on the Application of Punitive Damages in the Trial of Civil Cases of Intellectual Property Injury, which explained the difficult issues of how to accurately calculate the basic amount of compensation and how to apply the punitive damages system in cases of intellectual property infringement disputes. "This will strongly promote the use of punitive damages in judicial practice and is of great significance to further boost the confidence of innovation subjects in safeguarding their rights." The experts said.

Source: China Intellectual Property News      Date: March 22, 2021