"Haidilao" sued "Hedi Lao" for trademark infringement
West China Metropolis Daily-cover news reporter Yang Lishen Mengyun intern Jin Ling Recently, "Haidilao" sued "Hedi Lao" for trademark infringement on the hot search, "Haidilao" "Hedi Lao", is this considered infringement? According to China Judgment Documents Network: On August 12, the People's Court of Tianxin District, Changsha City rejected the plaintiff Haidilao's litigation request and held that Haidilao did not infringe the trademark rights of Haidilao.
As soon as the news was announced, it immediately caused heated discussions among netizens. Some netizens said, “fishing at the bottom of the river, fishing at the bottom of the lake, fishing in the pot are on their way.”
Is it really possible to name a registered trademark like netizens ridiculed it? Don't worry, listen to what lawyers and experts say first.
does not constitute trademark infringement
On August 13, "Haidilao" sued "Hedi Lao" for trademark infringement. The West China Metropolis Daily and cover news reporters found that after the People's Court of Tianxin District, Changsha City opened the case on August 1, 2019, it applied summary procedures in accordance with the law and opened a hearing.
In this case, Haidilao believes that the "河迪Lao" logo used by Hedi Lao Restaurant is similar to the "Haidilao" trademark approved and registered by Haidilao Company, which constitutes the use of similar trademarks for the same service and infringes the "Haidilao" trademark. The exclusive right requires Hedi Fishing Restaurant to stop infringement and compensate 200,000 yuan for economic losses.
The People's Court of Tianxin District of Changsha City held that whether a word trademark is similar or not, it is generally determined by combining sound, form, and meaning. Although both the "He Di Lao" logo and the "Haid Lao" trademark both have the word "Di Lao", there are certain differences in the overall shape of the text; in terms of pronunciation, whether "河" and "海" are pronounced in Mandarin The method is still pronounced according to the local dialect of Hunan, and there is no similarity; the shop plaque of Hedi Lao restaurant and the plaque of Haidilao hot pot restaurant are not similar in composition, color, etc., and their overall structure, three-dimensional shape, and color combination are not similar. Sex; all the restaurants under Haidilao’s operating menus are all Sichuanese hot pots, and Hediilao’s dishes are typical Hunan dishes. Therefore, Hediilao’s restaurant does not constitute an infringement of the trademark rights of Haidilao’s registered trademark “Haidilao”. In the end, Sichuan Haidilao Catering Co., Ltd.'s claim was rejected.
"We sell Hunan food"
"Hedi Lao" restaurant was approved and registered on September 20, 2018, and its business scope is Chinese food service. On August 13, the reporter contacted Mr. Wang, the owner of "Hedi Fishing Home Cooking". When talking about trademark infringement, Mr. Wang said: "We are two different things from Haidilao. The dishes and services we provide are different. We are Hunan cuisine."
Why is the name "Hedi Lao"? Mr. Wang said that his restaurant specializes in Hexian. "When I went to register a trademark, all the names I thought about in advance had been registered. I tried more than 50 names in one breath and happened to find that Hedi Lao had not been registered yet. I decided on this name."
trademark infringement depends on whether it causes "conceptual confusion" and profit from it
Tang Dajie, a visiting researcher at Wuhan University, said that as to whether word marks are similar, they generally need to be comprehensively identified in terms of sound, form, and meaning.
According to the “Interpretation of the Supreme People’s Court on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in the Trial of Trademark Civil Dispute Cases”, Article 9(2) stipulates: The trademark similarity provided in Article 52(1) of the Trademark Law refers to the trademark accused of infringement Compared with the plaintiff’s registered trademark, the font, pronunciation, meaning or composition and color of the graphics, or the overall structure of the combination of its elements are similar, or the three-dimensional shape and color combination are similar, which easily makes the relevant public’s perception of the goods Misidentification of the source or the belief that its source has a specific connection with the goods registered by the plaintiff.
In other words, an important criterion for judging whether a trademark is infringing is whether it has caused "conceptual confusion" to the public's perception and profited from it.
In response to the heated discussion among netizens, Lawyer Ji Shijun of Sichuan Fangce Law Firm stated that whether names like Jingdiluo, Hudiluo, and Guodiluo are infringements should not only be determined from the pronunciation of the name, but also from the overall image of the trademark and the trademark office. Comprehensive consideration on the types of goods used.