In the past three years, 148 cases of intellectual property rights infringement were tried and closed with punitive damages awarded by people's courts at different levels in China's Guangdong province. Of the total, 67 cases were tried and closed in 2021 alone, with the largest award of 30 million yuan ($4.7 million) in damages. The Guangdong High People's Court has recently released 6 representative cases as follows:
OPPLE Lighting (欧普照明股份有限公司) v. Guangzhou Huasheng Plastic Co., Ltd. (广州市华升塑料制品有限公司)
Case docket no.:（2019）粤民再147号
Case docket no. transliteration: 147, retrial, civil case, (2019) Guangdong High People’s Court
Case summary: The retrial court found that defendant Huasheng infringed the trademark owned by plaintiff OPPLE to manufacture lights and revoked the lower courts’ decision. The retrial court ordered the defendant to pay 3 million yuan ($470,000) in damages to the plaintiff.
Guosen Securities Co., Ltd. (国信证券股份有限公司) v. Guosen Equity Investment Fund (深圳市国信股权投资基金管理有限公司)
Case docket no.: （2021）粤03民终34395号
Case docket no. transliteration: 34395, second instance, civil case, (2021) Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court of Guangdong province
Case summary: The appeals court found that defendant Guosen Equity infringed the trademark owned by plaintiff Guosen Securities to market and distribute financial products to generate 8.5 million yuan ($1.3 million) and revoked the lower courts’ decision. The appeals court ordered the defendant to pay 10 million yuan ($1.6 million) in damages to the plaintiff.
Beijing Xiaomi Technology Co., Ltd. (小米科技有限责任公司) v. Shenzhen Xiaomi Trading Co., Ltd. (深圳市小米贸易有限公司)
Case docket no.: （2020）粤03民初7080号
Case docket no. transliteration: 7080, first instance, civil case, (2020) Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court of Guangdong province
Case summary: The court found that defendant Shenzhen Xiaomi infringed the trademark owned by plaintiff Beijing Xiaomi to market and distribute consumer electronics and home appliances to generate 154 million yuan ($24 million) in revenue. The court ordered the defendant to pay 30 million yuan ($4.7 million) in damages to the plaintiff.
Ulthera, Inc. (阿尔塞拉公司) v. Guangzhou Kepai Industrial Co., Ltd. (广州市柯派实业有限责任公司)
Case docket no.: （2020）粤73民终2442号
Case docket no. transliteration: 2442, second instance, civil case, (2020) Guangzhou Intellectual Property Court
Case summary: The appeals court found that defendant Kepai infringed the trademark owned by plaintiff Ulthera to market and distribute ultrasound medical devices to generate the sales between 650,000 yuan ($100,000) and 870,000 yuan ($140,000) in revenue and revoked the lower court’s decision. The appeals court ordered the defendant to pay 1 million yuan ($160,000) in damages to the plaintiff.
Shanghai Lanyan Cosmetics Co., Ltd. (兰研有限公司) v. Shenzhen One Hundred Percent Biotechnology Co., Ltd. (深圳百分百生物科技有限公司), Guangdong Cooway Biotechnology Co., Ltd. (广东科玮生物技术股份有限公司), and Guangzhou Saimei Food Co., Ltd. (广州赛美食品有限公司)
Case docket no.: （2020）粤0391民初1392号
Case docket no. transliteration: 1392, first instance, civil case, (2020) Qianhai Cooperation Zone People’s Court of Shenzhen city
Case summary: The court found that the defendants infringed the trademark owned by plaintiff Lanyan to market and distribute cosmetic goods to generate 13 million yuan ($2 million) in revenue. The court ordered the defendants to pay 1 million yuan ($160,000) in damages to the plaintiff.
Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (华为技术有限公司) v. Liu
Case docket no.: （2021）粤0309民初5864号
Case docket no. transliteration: 5864, first instance, civil case, (2021) Longhua District People’s Court of Shenzhen city
Case summary: The court found that defendant Liu infringed the trademark owned by plaintiff Huawei to market and distribute mobile phones to generate 2.2 million yuan ($340,000) in revenue. The court sentenced the defendant to pay a fine of 1.2 million yuan ($190,000) in damages and 3.5 years in prison. The court also ordered the defendant to pay 500,000 yuan ($79,000) in damages to the plaintiff.
