The application for the "Life One String" trademark was declared invalid

  Barbecue shop owner fights lawsuit for "life string"

  In June 2018, a documentary film "A String of Life" with barbecue food as the theme was broadcast on major online platforms and received wide acclaim.

Qianfeng Charcoal Barbecue Headquarters in Changchun, Jilin Province is one of the many barbecue restaurants in the film.

  The film crew said that on the second day after shooting, the store’s operator applied for the registration of the "Life Yi Chuan" trademark in the catering category, and opened a new store in April 2019. The four words "Life Yi Chuan" were widely used. Used for shop signs, menus, etc.

Afterwards, the film crew of the documentary "A String of Life" filed a trademark invalidation with the State Intellectual Property Office.

  After the "Life Yichuan" trademark was declared invalid by the National Intellectual Property Administration, the owner of the barbecue restaurant took it to court with a petition.

A reporter from Beijing Youth Daily was informed that the case was heard in the Beijing Intellectual Property Court on April 23.

  Whose "strand of life" is it?

  The disputed trademark involved in this case is the trademark No. 22737756 "Life Yichuan", which was registered by the plaintiff Guo. The application date was January 24, 2017, and the approved registration date was February 21, 2018. 43 types of cafes, restaurants and other services.

  On November 29, 2019, the third party Shanghai Kuanyu Company (bilibili affiliated company (abbreviated as Station B)) filed an invalidation request with the State Intellectual Property Office for the disputed trademark. The State Intellectual Property Office found after review that the plaintiff applied for a registration lawsuit Contending for trademarks and other "Life Series" trademarks has the intention to copy or imitate the names of other people's programs for illegitimate benefits. The subjective intentions are hardly justified, and they do not have the rationality or legitimacy of applying for trademark registration. It was finally determined that the application for registration of the disputed trademark constituted the “obtained registration by other improper means” as referred to in Article 44, Paragraph 1 of the Trademark Law.

  Plaintiff: The documentary has not been produced when the trademark was registered

  The plaintiff stated that since 2016, the slogan "Hi, hey life, just stick a bunch" has been designed and hung in the barbecue shop operated by the plaintiff. Based on the slogan and concept, it has simplified the creation of a more catchy and easy-to-promote slogan. Barbecue brand-"a string of life".

  In January 2017, the plaintiff applied for the registration of a trademark in the 43rd category of "Life One String".

When the plaintiff applied for the registration of the disputed trademark, the third-party documentary "A String of Life" had not been produced and broadcast, and it was impossible to gain popularity. The plaintiff did not have the subjective malice of clinging to the third-party's well-known logo.

The defendant shall judge whether the disputed trademark constitutes the “obtained registration by other improper means” as referred to in Article 44 Paragraph 1 of the Trademark Law based on the facts and status of the disputed trademark application date rather than the facts and status at the time of the trial. situation.

  In addition, the approved use category of the disputed trademark is the 43rd category, and the plaintiff also mainly uses the disputed trademark for catering (barbecue) services, and the relevant public is barbecue catering consumers.

The third party uses "Life Chain" as the name of the documentary. The production of documentary belongs to the film and television industry, which is completely different from the service category used by the disputed trademark, and it is unlikely that the relevant public will be confused and misunderstood.

  The plaintiff’s registration in other categories was based on the needs of the catering business and was not malicious registration.

This case is a private rights dispute between the plaintiff and a specific third party, and there are no acts that disrupt the order of trademark registration, harm public interests, or improperly occupy public resources.

  Defendant: The facts are clear and the applicable law is correct

  The defendant argued that the State Intellectual Property Office’s ruling on the request for invalidation of the trademark in question found clear facts and the application of the law was correct, and the plaintiff’s litigation request should be rejected.

  The third party’s opinion presented to the Beijing Intellectual Property Court stated that the disputed trademark was originally created by a third party, and “Life is a string” is a contrived word with strong significance. The plaintiff, Guo’s Qianfeng Charcoal Barbecue Restaurant After the director team of the documentary "Life is a string" stepped in to shoot, after learning that "Life Is a string" is a documentary with the theme of "Barbecue", the trademark "Life is a string" was registered in just two days.

  After applying for registration, the plaintiff did not put it into use as soon as possible. Instead, after the documentary "Life String" was broadcast on the third-party website, it registered and established the Life String Barbecue in Kuancheng District, Changchun City on April 19, 2019. Stores, and chooses to attract franchisees on a large scale and charge high brand franchise fees, its maliciousness is obvious.

  The plaintiff’s application for the registration of the "Life One String" trademark has caused the relevant public to confuse and misunderstand the source of the service, which not only harms the rights of third parties, but also harms the interests of the general public, including consumers and franchisees.

The plaintiff's numerous and repeated applications for the same or similar trademarks in different categories of "Life One String" are all malicious registrations.

  The case will be sentenced at an elective date.

  Text/Reporter Zhu Jianyong Coordinated/Zhang Bin