Dozens of restaurants in Sichuan have been accused of "green pepper" in the shop recruitment
The complaining party is a Shanghai company, and the owner of the catering company involved has spontaneously prepared for rights protection
West China Metropolis Daily-Cover News Reporter Zhu Zhu, Dai Zhuxin, Zhu Ning Gouchun
Recently, Ms. Tang, the owner of a hot pot restaurant in Chengdu, received a subpoena from the Chengdu Intermediate People’s Court. She learned that the hot pot restaurant had been sued for the word "green pepper" in the shop recruitment, which made Ms. Tang very distressed. .
The reporter’s investigation found that in addition to Ms. Tang’s stores, many catering companies in Chengdu, Suining, Meishan and other places have also become defendants for using the word "green pepper". There are even catering owners and lawyers who have privately negotiated prices and settled these cases. The complaining parties all point to Shanghai Wancuitang Catering Management Co., Ltd.
The trademark lawsuits of "Xiaoyao Town Hu spicy soup" and "Tongguan Roujiamo" have caused a lot of troubles, and the State Intellectual Property Office has also denied the relevant actions. Now the "green pepper" is on the cusp.
Green pepper is a well-known seasoning in Sichuan. Can restaurant recruits use the word "green pepper"?
Where does Shanghai Wancuitang Catering Management Co., Ltd. come from?
On December 23, the reporter learned that the owners of a number of catering companies in Sichuan had spontaneously organized groups to defend their rights.
"Green pepper fish" twice became the defendant and the shopkeeper was upset: selling green pepper fish is also infringing?
On December 23, the "Chongqing Green Pepper Fish" shop located on Wanshou 4th Road, Qingyang District, Chengdu, closed its doors.
The reporter saw at the scene that the word "green" in the shop's sign had been removed, leaving only the word "prickly fish".
The owner, Ms. Tang, said that she had received subpoenas from the Chengdu Intermediate Court twice.
The subpoena showed that Shanghai Wancuitang Catering Management Co., Ltd. sued Ms. Tang’s store for infringement of its trademark rights, demanding that it stop the infringement of the plaintiff’s right to exclusive use of the registered trademark of the word "green pepper", remove the door of the store with the plaintiff’s trademark, and Compensation for losses and reasonable expenses of 50,000 yuan.
"None of us thought that selling a green pepper fish would infringe?" Ms. Tang found it incredible. Sichuan is a major producer of green peppercorns. The use of green peppercorns is very common. If you choose a name for the shop yourself, how can you get a lawsuit? Up?
In 2017, Ms. Tang and her husband rented a store on Wanshou 4th Road and opened a hot pot fish restaurant.
"Eating fish, everyone knows that green pepper fish is delicious, so it made the name card." Ms. Tang said that in the previous years of business, no other operators raised objections to them, until the sudden harvest in November this year. To subpoena.
Ms. Tang, who received the subpoena for the first time, felt very scared, so she quickly removed the word "green" on the signboard at the door.
On November 17, Ms. Tang went to the court to respond to the lawsuit and was informed by the court that the plaintiff had withdrawn the lawsuit.
However, on December 6, Ms. Tang learned again that the other company had sued herself again, and the court has filed a case.
This encounter made Ms. Tang feel very sad.
"After receiving the subpoena, I was drowsy and couldn't fall asleep. I was very anxious and didn't know what to do." What made her puzzled was why the three characters "Qinghuajiao" could be registered as a trademark?
She believes that green pepper is a generic name and a specialty of Sichuan and Chongqing. If "green pepper" can be registered, and so on, will "twice-cooked pork" and "fruit shop" be unavailable in the future?
Ms. Tang said that business is not good because of the epidemic. After discussing with her family, she has closed the store.
A shopkeeper received a "negotiation" call. Many catering companies in Sichuan joined forces to defend their rights
Coincidentally, the West China Metropolis Daily and cover news reporters visited and learned that dozens of restaurants in Sichuan have been accused of infringement for using the word "green pepper".
Mr. Wu, the owner of a hot pot restaurant in Wuhou District, Chengdu, said: “Some merchants have lost money, but some merchants have received so-called consultation calls. The price ranges from 30,000 to 15,000.”
The Tianyancha APP shows that the latest application for registration of the "Green Huajiao" trademark by Shanghai Wancuitang Catering Management Co., Ltd. was applied for on July 21 this year. Frequent registrations of various "Qinghuajiao" trademarks, but most of them have been rejected, and most of those that have passed have obvious icons.
Mr. Wu believes that most of the defendant’s restaurants have been in business for several years, and it is simply unreasonable to be sued for infringement.
In response to the distress of "infringement", Mr. Wu has united with 18 shopkeepers who have been sued to form a rights protection group to prepare for rights protection: “This is obviously malicious. Legal weapons protect yourself."
On December 23, the reporter came to Mr. Wu’s hot pot restaurant and found that its signature was “Green Pepper Buffet Hot Pot Fish”. The clerk told the reporter: “Recently, many people came to ask about taking pictures. They posted these photos on the Internet, so the Shanghai one The company found us and sued us."
In fact, perhaps due to ignorance of trademark law and worries about filing a case in the court, the shop assistants also seem to think that they may really be "infringing".
The prosecutor responded: The trademark "Qinghuajiao" is reasonably and legally entitled to bring a lawsuit against the infringing subject
Tianyancha APP shows that the business scope of Shanghai Wancuitang Catering Management Co., Ltd. covers catering services.
The reporter further investigated and found that the paid-in capital of this company is only 500,000 yuan, but there are 8 shareholders, including 5 investment companies.
The official website of its green pepper casserole fish brand also displayed a "rights protection statement" stating that the rights of the "green pepper" brand (trademark registration number: 12046607) include the door image, menu content, brand name, decoration image, etc., warning " Some companies" should immediately stop infringement.
The reporter contacted Shanghai Wancuitang Catering Management Co., Ltd., and the other party said: "Our trademark is reasonable and legal, and some people are infringing, so we naturally take relevant countermeasures."
Afterwards, the reporter called the Shanghai Duanhe Duan Intellectual Property Agency Co., Ltd., which registered the trademark "Qinghuajiao" for Shanghai Wancuitang Catering Management Co., Ltd., and its staff stated that the trademark "Qinghuajiao" was applied by the client and was approved by the Trademark Office. The relevant litigation has nothing to do with Duan He Duan Intellectual Property Agency Co., Ltd.
However, the staff member also emphasized that if the trademark has been applied for approval, the trademark holder will be granted relevant rights, including litigation against the subject who believes that he has infringed his trademark rights.
So, why can the widely recognized condiment "green pepper" pass the approval?
The aforementioned staff stated that in the trademark law, as long as "green pepper" does not act in the seasoning of pepper, a trademark can be formed in other fields, and there is no legal obstacle to application.
Whether the industry voices infringement depends on the situation
Regarding the question of whether "green pepper" can become a trademark to sue "infringement", the reporter interviewed a number of industry professionals.
Wang Lu, director of the Trademark Business Center of Dinghong Intellectual Property Group, believes that the "Qinghuajiao" trademark has the exclusive right to prohibit other non-right holders from using it.
However, in addition to granting exclusive rights to trademarks, the Trademark Law also has some exceptions. For example, "Qinghuajiao" uses a variety of Zanthoxylum bungeanum to become a common name, which makes the infringement untenable.
In this situation, even if the company has exclusive rights to a trademark, it does not have a legitimate reason to file a lawsuit against the trademark.
Lawyer Lu Yuanhui of Sichuan Discovery Law Firm believes that the reason for the successful registration of Shanghai Wancuitang's "Green Huajiao" trademark is that my country's trademark law does not prohibit cross-category registration of generic names.
Therefore, if the word "green pepper" is applied for registration as a trademark of category 30, that is, condiments and other categories of goods, it may not be registered because it is a generic name.
However, in this case, the Shanghai company obtained multiple valid trademarks in the 43rd category of "Green Huajiao" text from the State Intellectual Property Office. This category covers fast-food restaurants, restaurants, restaurants, and company canteen catering services. Therefore, if other companies are in The use of the words "green pepper" in this scope may easily mislead the public and may constitute infringement.