photo from: chinacourt

On March 7, with the coordination of the Information Bureau of the Supreme People's Court and the CCTV News Center of the Central Radio and Television Administration, the 2018 Top Ten Cases for Advancing the Rule of Law in China were finally selected, among which figured the administrative dispute of Dior’s wrongly rejected trademark application, a case concerning the infringement of intellectual property rights.

On April 26, 2018, on the occasion of the 18th World Intellectual Property Day, the Supreme People’s Court held a public hearing in the First Circuit, adjudging the case of Christian Dior Fragrances’ wrongly rejected trademark application by the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board under the State Administration for Industry and Commerce.

According to the Supreme People’s Court’s  final ruling, the decision of the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board violates the legitimacy of the administrative procedure and may damage the reasonable expectation of the administrative counterpart. The first-instance and second-instance courts should have corrected the decision. By that, the Supreme Court revoked the judgments of the two lower courts and ordered the Board to re-examine the trademark application concerned.

The Supreme People’s Court’s lawful ruling in favor of Dior is of great importance.

First, it fully demonstrates the principle of equal protection of the legitimate interests for both Chinese and foreigners, making China known as a responsible country working to strengthen the judicial protection of intellectual property rights.

Second, it emphasizes the principle of implementing international conventions and strengthening international cooperation.

Third, it fully embodies the leading role of the judicial protection of intellectual property rights. Through the judicial procedure, the Supreme People's Court reviewed the case and corrected the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board’s misidentification of facts, thus strengthening the requirements for the legitimacy of administrative procedures, and fully reflecting the leading role of the judicial protection of intellectual property rights.

Fourth, it demonstrates the principle of timely relief and comprehensive protection of rights. Optimizing the international trademark registration procedure is an important testament to China’s active implementation of international conventions including the Madrid Agreement.

 March 7, 2019

Source: www.chinacourt.org