By King & Wood’s Trademark Group

Dissatisfied with the trademark registration of "BRITNEY 布兰妮 (BRITNEY in Chinese)" by a third party in China, the famous star singer Britney Spears filed suit against the China Trademark Review and Adjudication Board (TRAB) before the Beijing First Intermediate People’s Court, requesting the Court to rescind the TRAB’s decision on maintaining the registration of the mark "布兰妮BRITNEY".

The third party, Shenzhen Wanfuda Trading Co., Ltd. ("Wanfuda") filed an application for registration of the mark "BRITNEY 布兰妮 (BRITNEY in Chinese)" in August of 2001. The mark was granted registration on "clocks; watches; etc." in class 14 on January 28, 2004 by the China Trademark Office (CTMO) under Reg. No. 2010626. Ms. Spears filed an application for cancellation against the said mark with the TRAB on October 8, 2005 based on her name rights. After examination, the TRAB maintained the registration of the disputed mark. Ms. Spears was dissatisfied with the TRAB’s decision and therefore filed suit with the Court against the TRAB’s decision.Continue Reading Dispute of Name Rights: Pop Singer Britney Spears Sues TRAB

作者:金杜律师事务所商标

因不满自己名字在中国被他人注册为商标,国际流行乐坛著名女歌星布兰妮将中国工商总局商标评审委员会(简称商评委)起诉至北京市第一中级人民法院,请求法院撤销商评委准予注册的裁定。2012年1月5日,北京市一中院判决驳回了布兰妮的诉讼请求。

2001年8月,深圳市万富达贸易有限公司(以下简称“万富达”)向中国商标局申请注册“布兰妮BRITNEY”商标。2004年1月28日,该商标被核准注册于14类的“钟、表”等商品上,注册号为2010626。2005年10月8日,布兰妮向商评委提出申请,以其姓名权为由要求商评委撤销前述注册商标。商评委经过审理裁定维持该商标的注册。布兰妮不服,将商评委告到法院,提起行政诉讼。Continue Reading 姓名权之争:”小甜甜”布兰妮状告中国商评委

By King & Wood’s Trademark  Practice

Nokia opposed a trademark application to register "VERTU" under Appn. No. 3084613 which covered "spectacles [optics]; eyeglass cases, etc." in Class 9 filed by an individual. Both the China Trademark Office ("CTMO") and Trademark Review and Adjudication Board ("TRAB") denied the opposition. Nokia appealed before the Beijing First Intermediate People’s Court asserting that:Continue Reading “VERTU” Mobile Phones vs. “VERTU” Spectacles

Ting Xu, Associate, Trademark Department

On May 26, 2008, the China Trademark Review and Adjudication Board (“TRAB”) of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC) made a decision in favor of Changyu Winery Group, upholding its exclusive use of the mark “cabernet” in Chinese 解百纳 as a registered trademark. The decision further found that Changyu established “解百纳”  as one of its trademarks through its use and did not consider “解百纳” the generic name for these cabernet grape varieties.  This means other wineries such as China Great Wall Winery, Dynasty Fine Wines Group Limited and Yantai Weilong Grape Wine Co. are prohibited from using the mark “解百纳”, which may certainly cause damage to these wine makers in marketing their products.
Continue Reading Wine Confusion: Trademark Dispute over Cabernet

Successfully handling rejection reviews, based on a prior similar mark, in the past has proven difficult.  Rather than simply giving up registration of an important trademark, recent China Trademark Review and Adjudication Board (TRAB) decisions indicate that an effective alternative for applicants is trying to reach a co-existence agreement with the owner of the cited