Our Firm's Case Selected into the Top 10 Administrative Protection Cases of Intellectual Property Rights in Ningbo
Recently, the case of trademark infringement administrative investigation and punishment against Yuyao XX Garment Trading Co., Ltd., undertaken by lawyers Lihua Shen, Limin Meng and Sihan Xu of our firm, has been successfully selected into the Top 10 Administrative Protection Cases of Intellectual Property Rights in Ningbo due to its typicality and demonstration value.
I. Basic Facts of the Case
This case is an administrative investigation and punishment case targeting the trademark infringement acts of Yuyao XX Garment Trading Co., Ltd. Upon on-site inspection by Ningbo Municipal Administration for Market Regulation, two types of suspected infringing garments of the company were seized: 56 striped sporty retro casual short-sleeved A-line dresses with style number U220412A and 31 sets of striped sporty retro casual two-piece suits for women with style number U200408A.
It was found that the patterns marked on the above two types of garments constituted a similarity to the registered trademark (Trademark Registration Certificate No.: 56275817) legally held by the right holder. Since April 2022, the garment trading company has pre-sold the infringing products through Douyin live streaming. As of the occurrence of the case, it has sold 35 dresses and 2,212 sets of two-piece suits, with illegal business volume reaching more than 301,000 yuan and illegal gains of more than 73,600 yuan. Its acts have violated the provisions of Article 57 (3) of the Trademark Law of the People's Republic of China, constituting the act of selling goods that infringe upon the exclusive right to use a registered trademark.
In accordance with the provisions of Article 60 (2) of the Trademark Law of the People's Republic of China and Article 28 (2) of the Administrative Penalty Law of the People's Republic of China, the regulatory authority legally made an administrative penalty decision: ordering the party concerned to immediately stop the infringing acts, confiscate the remaining inventory products, and impose a total of more than 133,800 yuan in fines and confiscations on it.
II. Typical Guiding Significance of the Case
1. Linkage of Mediation and Punishment to Achieve Diversified Resolution of Disputes
During the handling of this case, under the organization of Ningbo People's Mediation Committee for Intellectual Property Disputes, mediation work was carried out between the infringing party and the right holder. Finally, the two parties reached a mediation agreement, properly resolving the civil dispute, and the right holder also issued a letter of understanding, which became an important basis for the lenient punishment of the case. This model not only safeguards the legitimate rights and interests of the right holder, but also provides room for the infringing party to rectify and correct mistakes, which is a vivid practice of the effective connection between administrative protection of intellectual property rights and people's mediation.
2. Focus on the New Live Streaming Industry and Strengthen Intellectual Property Supervision in Emerging Fields
With the rapid development of the live streaming industry, problems such as false propaganda, defective product quality and trademark infringement have occurred frequently. As a typical case of trademark infringement in the live streaming industry, this case clarifies the investigation standards and law enforcement orientation for trademark infringement in the field of e-commerce live streaming, and provides law enforcement reference for regulating the business order of the live streaming e-commerce industry and curbing intellectual property infringement acts in new formats.
3. Outstanding Case Handling Quality and Efficiency, Awarded Excellent Provincial Case
This case has benchmarking significance in the whole process of evidence fixation, calculation of illegal business volume and illegal gains, identification of infringement, and dispute mediation. Relying on its rigorous case handling ideas and remarkable law enforcement effects, it was awarded the Excellent Case in the Zhejiang Provincial Intellectual Property Protection Business Competition and Patent and Trademark Case File Review and Exchange Activity, and won wide praise from all walks of life.
III. Conclusion
The selection of this case is a high recognition of the professional ability and case handling level of the lawyers of our firm. In the future, our firm will continue to deepen the field of intellectual property protection, give full play to the demonstration and leading role of typical cases, provide high-quality intellectual property legal services for enterprises, and help create a law-based and standardized market business environment.