On November 22, 2023, Hubei ** published "Michelin" to compensate "Michelin" with 10 million yuan;**Scope of recognition of well-known trademarks in trademark infringement cases.
Founded in 1863, Michelin Inc., a French company, is a world-famous tire manufacturer and one of the world's top 500 companies. Since the 80s of the last century, Michelin has registered the trademarks "Michelin" and "Michelin" in China, using goods and services such as wheels, tires, inner tubes, and providing tourists with hotel and restaurant address information. The trademark has been recognized as a well-known trademark by China's trademark examination agencies and judicial authorities for many times. Because the Cantonese pronunciation of "Michelin" is "Michelin", Michelin registered a number of trademarks "Michelin" and "Michelin" in 1990 and 2009.
In 2013, Qian opened the first Michelin milk tea shop in ShanghaiIn 2014, Shanghai Michelin Catering Management was established. In the absence of the right to use the trademark, Shanghai Michelin used "Michelin" as the corporate name and store signboard, and solicited franchisees. In the copywriting of platforms such as WeChat, Shanghai Michelin has many expressions that deliberately "link" itself to Michelin.
In this regard, Michelin believed that Shanghai Michelin had infringed the exclusive right to use the trademark and the unfair competition of using "Michelin" as a trade name, and filed a lawsuit with the people's court to stop the infringement and compensate for the losses.
Compared with general trademarks, well-known trademarks have their particularities, which can only obtain protection for similar goods or services, while registered well-known trademarks can not only obtain the same kind of protection, but also obtain cross-class protection. Compared with general trademarks, well-known trademarks have their particularities, which can only obtain protection for similar goods or services, while registered well-known trademarks can not only obtain the same kind of protection, but also obtain cross-class protection.
In this case, Michelin used the corporate name "Michelin" without permission and used the "Michelin" and "Michelin" logos to engage in catering services, and the court finally only found that the registered trademark "Michelin" approved by Michelin for use on printed goods in Class 16 was a well-known trademark, which effectively stopped trademark infringement and unfair competition based on the cross-class anti-confusion protection system for registered well-known trademarks.
If the Trademark Office determines that it is a well-known trademark in accordance with Article 14 of the Trademark Law, the administrative department for industry and commerce shall order it to stop using the trademark in violation of Article 13 of the Trademark Law, and to confiscate and destroy the trademark logo used illegally;Where it is difficult to separate the trademark logo from the goods, it shall be confiscated and destroyed together. Shanghai Michelin is required to immediately stop infringing on Michelin's exclusive right to use the trademark and compensate 10 million yuan.
Circle reminds trademark owners to apply for registered trademarks as soon as possible, so as to avoid malicious registration of trademarks by others after they have achieved a certain degree of popularity after they have been used. After the trademark has achieved a high reputation, the right holder can register the trademark in various categories and establish a defense system for well-known or well-known trademarks. In addition, in the process of using and publicizing the trademark, the right holder ;If it is discovered that a well-known trademark has been imitated or copied, it shall promptly protect its rights through administrative procedures and litigation procedures.
Article**: Trademark Circle.