"Tongguan Roujiamo" trademark applied by Tongguan Roujiamo Association (screenshot)
Recently, after the "Xiaoyao Town Hu La Tang" triggered a storm of trademark rights protection, the "Tongguan Roujiamo" in Tongguan County, Weinan City, Shaanxi Province was again involved in a trademark dispute.
The Paper (www.thepaper.cn) noticed that the Tongguan Roujiamo Association has sued a number of stores across the country that are accused of using the trademark. There have been 210 court announcements in recent months.
According to previous reports from Henan Radio and Television Station, on November 21st, the merchants of dozens of snack bars in Henan asked for help saying that they were sued by the Shaanxi "Tongguan Roujiamo Association" because of the word "Tongguan" they were selling. , Asking them to pay 30,000 to 50,000 yuan, if they want to continue to use the "Tongguan Roujiamo" trademark, they need to pay 99,800 yuan.
Merchants said that there are hundreds of snack bars across the country that have similar experiences with them.
According to the information from Tianyan Check, the Tongguan Roujiamo Association was established on June 6, 2016 with a registered capital of 50,000 yuan. The legal representative is Wang Huafeng. The registration and management authority is the Tongguan County Civil Affairs Bureau, which is a social organization. Its purpose is Tongguan Roujia. Mo training, promotion and publicity.
Its historical name is "Lao Tongguan Snack Association".
According to information from the China Trademark Network of the Trademark Office of the State Intellectual Property Office, the Lao Tongguan Snack Association applied for the registration of the "Tongguan Roujia Mo" trademark on April 14, 2014.
The international classification of the trademark is 30, the registration announcement date is December 14, 2015, the exclusive right period is from December 14, 2015 to December 13, 2025, and the trademark type is a collective trademark.
According to the information from Tianyan Check, Tongguan Roujiamo Association sued hundreds of snack shops, food shops, and gourmet restaurants for “trademark infringement disputes”, “trademark ownership, infringement disputes” and other reasons.
According to Tianyan Check, there were 210 hearings in recent months.
The indicted snack bars are distributed all over the country, some are from Jiaozuo, Henan, some are from Hangzhou, Zhejiang, and some are from Foshan, Guangdong.
The Tongguan Roujiamo Association has recently announced 210 hearings (screenshot)
After the Tongguan Roujiamo Association sued a number of snack bars and caused concern, a staff member of the Tongguan County Propaganda Department told The Paper on November 24 that the local area has paid attention to the matter and is currently processing it.
As for how to deal with it, the staff member did not disclose.
On the same day, The Paper called the Tongguan Roujiamo Association several times, but none of the calls were connected, and the other party did not reply to relevant text messages.
Relevant staff of the Tongguan Roujiamo Association stated in an interview with Elephant News that the association has entrusted a Beijing law firm to conduct national trademark rights protection from December 2020. Be able to join the association and develop together.
The staff of the Tongguan County Bureau of Commerce in Shaanxi responded to the elephant news reporter. The current impact of this matter is wide and has attracted attention. The relevant leaders of the Tongguan County government are meeting with the staff of the "Tongguan Roujiamo Association".
The Paper previously reported that Henan's "Xiaoyao Town Hu spicy soup" also triggered a trademark rights dispute recently.
Many vendors who have been operating "Xiaoyao Town Hu La Tang" for more than ten years were suddenly sued by the Henan Xihua County Hu La Tang Association for infringing on the trademark rights of "Xiaoyao Town".
On the evening of November 21, Xihua County Hu La Tang Industry Development Center issued a statement stating that it had ordered the "Xiaoyao Town Hu La Tang Association" to suspend current work.
Some experts believe that the "Xiaoyao Town" held by the Xiaoyao Town Hula Tang Association is not a certifying and collective "geographical trademark", but a "general trademark" generally registered by specific businesses. "Ordinary trademarks" are not appropriate for trademark rights protection.
Some experts also believe that the Hu Latang Association’s practice of using trademarks to protect rights is “not protecting trademarks (the association is not registering geographic trademarks), but it is suspected of'collecting protection fees'."
The Paper, Journalist Xue Shasha, Special Correspondent Fei Danyi