Recently, the Intellectual Property Court of the Guangxin District Court heard a trademark infringement case. On September 10, 2001, the plaintiff, a Sunshine Hospital, obtained the right to use the trademark "Sunshine", covering services such as beauty salons, massages, and infirmaries. Although the trademark is currently valid, the plaintiff found that the defendant Yugan Sunshine Hospital was also using the word "sunshine". The plaintiff then sued the defendant in court, demanding cessation of the infringement and compensation for economic losses.
The judge verifies the case
After the case is accepted, the presiding judge quickly verifies the facts of the case. After the trial, it was held that from the perspective of the distinctiveness and popularity of the trademark, the defendant's use of "sunshine" in the trade name was not easy to cause misunderstanding by the relevant public. However, "sunshine" is not an imaginary word, it is a common word in the public domain, and its distinctiveness is weak, and it cannot be excluded from the legitimate use of others. The "sunshine" used by the defendant is a Chinese traditional font, which is quite different from the special Chinese seal font of the plaintiff's trademark. The overall visual effect of the Chinese characters in the defendant's name or trade name is uniform, and the word "sunshine" is not prominently highlighted, which will not cause confusion and misidentification among the relevant public. Therefore, the court held that the evidence provided by the plaintiff was insufficient to determine that the defendant had committed unfair competition, and rejected the plaintiff's claim in accordance with the law.
Court Decision
Protect the scope of the exclusive right to use the trademark
The scope of protection of the exclusive right to use a trademark should be consistent with its distinctiveness and popularity. In its judgment, the court clarified the scope of protection of the trademark and curbed the abuse of rights in accordance with the law. This judgment is conducive to upholding the fair and reasonable use of the exclusive right to use trademarks.
The use of a trademark involves a combination of statutory provisions and actual circumstances. In this case, the court conducted a detailed analysis of the distinctiveness and popularity of the trademark during the trial, and the clear defense in the judgment was conducive to the proper protection and reasonable exercise of trademark rights. Trademark users need to be cautious in their operations to avoid legal disputes.
Trademark Infringement