Two companies that used to work well together, Because of differences in business philosophy, The foreign company withdrew its investment, Separately invest to establish its own wholly owned subsidiary in China. All sides showed their abilities, All wish they were at home, A place in the international exhibition market. The three companies operate separately, A well does not offend a river, Can be due to their respective propaganda strategies and ways, All three companies went to court, Go to court.

Years of cooperation　Call it quits

German Gio exhibition components company in the last century 70 Was founded in Germany, It is a world - famous enterprise specializing in the production of exhibition equipment. 1994 At the beginning of the year, German Gonow company and Changzhou Xinxin Exhibition decoration Company, Shanghai Exhibition Company funded the establishment of Changzhou Gonow company, Mainly engaged in the development of exhibition equipment, Production and marketing. Among them, German Gonow company to fund 60 Ten thousand dollars, Including its registered trademark "JIAO" And patent technology 15 Ten thousand dollars.

At the beginning of the establishment of joint venture Company, All parties work together, The joint venture company is thriving. however, With the deepening of cooperation, The parties began to crack, Changzhou Gio's performance began to decline, The way out of the company is facing the parties to the joint venture. 1998 years 5 month, The board of directors of the joint venture Company makes a resolution, German Gonow withdrew from joint Venture, The registered trademark and patent technology of German Gio at the beginning, Recover by, non-transferable, The remaining equity will be transferred to relevant companies in China. The joint venture Company is changed to Changzhou Famous Development Company, By Changzhou Xinxin exhibition decorative materials factory, Shanghai Exhibition Company and Hong Kong Bangda International Enterprise tripartite. simultaneously, Joint Venture discontinued the use of German Geo "JIAO" trademark, Stop the production of German Gio's patented products. After quitting Changzhou, German Gonow is not willing to give up the Chinese market. 2003 At the beginning of the year, Gono GMBH established Sunangio in China, Also engaged in the development and production of exhibition materials. so, Former partners have become rivals, Compete in the domestic and international exhibition markets.

Logo controversy　Just go to court

2004 years 6 month, Germany Gio Changzhou Mingfa company to the second Intermediate Court of Beijing. German gioscale, Changzhou name development company registered for use "MINGFA" And the picture of the trademark and "JIAO" Very similar, Seriously violated the German Gio trademark enjoyed by the exclusive right. Germany Gio request court order Changzhou name development company to stop infringement, And compensate the loss in RMB 50 Ten thousand yuan.

Beijing second Intermediate Court after hearing that, The German Gio registered trademark does not require protection of color, The court didn't care. From the composition, The graphic trademark logo used by Changzhou Mingfa Company is registered with German Gonow Company "JIAO" Ten hexagon graphic logo compared, There are obvious visual differences between them, The German company Geow logo graphic ideas from the product parts of the shape, The Changzhou name development company uses the prominent and prominent part of the logo is the center of the circle with longitude and latitude lines, The outer part of the circle is reduced to an ornament, Is a kind of abstract artistic modeling, So they don't form an approximation.

2005 years 12 month, Beijing Second Intermediate People's Court issued the verdict, The claim of German Gio is dismissed. After the verdict of the first instance, The German company did not appeal.

Improper competition Go back to court

Before the trademark infringement dispute is settled, German Gio is suing again. 2005 years 7 month, German Gio cited unfair competition, Take the name company to court. They complained: Mfa has repeatedly emphasized its relationship with Geo in its product publicity materials and on its website, Also deliberately stated that its products comply with the German Geow standard, However, it did not mention the fact that German Geow withdrew all its investment in intellectual property including trademark rights, To create public confusion about the relationship between the two companies. Germangio thinks, The behavior of Changzhou Mingfa Company not only violates the equity transfer agreement signed by the two companies, Also a serious violation "Anti-unfair competition Law" Relevant provisions of, Constituted unfair competition against German Gio. Request the court to order the company to stop the unfair competition immediately, Put a statement in the press, Make an apology, Eliminate the effect, And compensate their economic losses in RMB 50 Ten thousand yuan.

Beijing second Intermediate Court after hearing that, Changzhou Mingfa Company in the publicity activities to emphasize the relationship with Germany Gio, And used language inconsistent with objective facts, It avoids some objective truth, Enough to cause misunderstanding among the concerned public, The subjective intention of unfair competition is obvious. accordingly, Beijing second Intermediate Court ordered Changzhou famous development company to bear to stop the infringement, Apologize in writing and erase the impact, Compensate German Gio economic loss RMB 5. 5 Ten thousand Yuan and bear the corresponding legal costs.

Changzhou name development company refused to accept the first instance judgment, An appeal was filed with the Beijing High Court. 2006 years 11 month, The Beijing High Court made the final decision: Dismiss an appeal, Uphold the original judgment.

Your appeal is dismissed　Enter on our side

Gonow defended its rights through litigation, Would have been wise. but, In the above two cases neither court judgment, 2005 years 9 month, Geow, a German company, wrote an identical version in German and Chinese "notice" , Both on Sunangio website and in China "Exhibition wealth" In the magazine. "notice" Main content, One is to introduce the establishment time of German Gonow Company, Background and development status, Show its international well-known enterprise status; Second, the German Gonow Company used to run a joint venture in Changzhou, China, Changzhou Gio Company, But in 1998 The investment will be withdrawn in the next year, Sold all his shares, They pulled out all their technicians, The relevant technical support to the joint venture company has been stopped, And the joint venture company can not reproduce and sell JIAO Exhibition materials, It can't be used again JIAO Trademarks and associated logos; Third, advertise that it is registered in China "JIAO" Drawing mark, And the relevant identification for its special purpose, Claiming that relevant enterprises in China are illegally using these trademarks and logos, Constituted infringement, Customers are required not to do business with companies that use infringing logos, So as not to be incriminated; For businesses that still use their logos illegally, Gonow issued a final warning, And reserve the right to pursue legal responsibility.

above "notice" After publication, Changzhou name of the company's relevant customers will write to the company to ask "notice" Whether it is related to the name development company, Whether to issue for the name company, Some customers have even stopped performing the product purchase contracts signed with Namedevelopment companies, The production and operation of the name development Company was once greatly affected.

To this, Changzhou name development company, of course, can not ignore, So the two sides went back to court, They just switched positions, The German companies Gonio and Sunangio were named as defendants, Changzhou famous hair company became the plaintiff.

2006 years 2 month, Changzhou Mingfa company filed a lawsuit with Changzhou Intermediate People's Court, According to: Issued by Gonio GMBH and Sunangio GMBH "notice" , Deliberate fabrication of facts, Defaming the business reputation and commodity reputation of Changzhou Mingfa Company, Constitute unfair competition, Ask both defendants to stop the infringement, Make an apology, Eliminate the effect, Compensate for economic losses in RMB 50 RMB Yuan and bear all litigation costs.

German Gonow Company and Sunangio company joint defense said: The two defendants published the case "notice" Truth of content, No fictitious facts or misleading statements; Changzhou name development company unfair competition first, The Second Intermediate People's Court in Beijing ordered it to stop infringing, Eliminate the effect, After the judgment of damages and other liabilities takes effect, Still making false claims on the website, The defendant just posted the "notice" , To set the record straight, There was no intent to infringe, It does not constitute unfair competition, Request the court to reject the plaintiff Changzhou name development Company all litigation requests.

The plaintiff Changzhou name development company believes that, Posted by the two defendants "notice" content, Clearly inconsistent with the facts, Misleading statements and clearly aimed at the plaintiff, Subjectively, there is intent to damage the reputation of the plaintiff's commodities and commercial reputation, Objective to the plaintiff's normal business caused damage. The conduct of the two defendants constitutes unfair competition, Bear tort liability.

Changzhou Intermediate court heard that, Be involved in "notice" In the "They pulled all the technical staff from Gonow" "... So the products that continue to be made no longer fit JIAO standard" Etc, Without factual basis. The expression of some words may cause confusion among the concerned public, Reduces the plaintiff's business reputation and merchandise reputation in this case. especially, After the effective legal documents have confirmed that the registered trademark used by Changzhou Mingfa Company has not infringed the exclusive right to use the registered trademark of Gonow Company, Both defendants remain "notice" Claim in "They also tend to adopt logos that closely resemble their own trademarks" , It means that Changzhou name development Company infringes its registered trademark, This behavior damages the legitimate rights and interests of Changzhou Mingfa Company.

simultaneously, The court also held that, case "notice" Although made by the defendant Geow GMBH in Germany, But the defendant, Sunangio, posted it on its website, Meanwhile in China "Exhibition wealth" publish. Sunangio is not correct "notice" Content verification, After the judgment of German Gonow Company v. Changzhou Mingfa Company on trademark infringement came into effect, Not in time "notice" Make appropriate changes to the content. The two defendants are jointly at fault and committed a joint tort, Constitute joint tort, They shall jointly bear the tort liability. Complete judgment: Gonow GMBH, Sunangio immediately stopped the infringement; Gonow GMBH, Sunangio Company on its website homepage and "Exhibition wealth" A statement in a magazine, Eliminate the effect (The declaration is subject to review by the court) ; German Gonow Company to Changzhou Mingfa Company compensation RMB 9 Ten thousand yuan, Sunangio Company shall be jointly and severally liable.

Court mediation　Shake hands and make peace

Gonow GMBH, Sunangio is challenging the ruling, They respectively appealed to the Jiangsu Provincial High Court, Saying the original trial court found the facts incorrect, Changzhou Mingfa Company is the implementation of improper competition and refused to perform the judgment obligations first, I only published it to set the record straight "notice" , There is no subjective intention to damage the business reputation and commodity reputation of Changzhou Mingfa Company, No infringement, Ask for a fair judgment from the court.

2007 End of the year, The High Court of Jiangsu Province held a public hearing on the case. In court, Changzhou name development company adhere to the view of first instance, It also emphasizes the time of judgment and the issuance of the two appellants in the two cases brought by the German Gonow Company to the Second Intermediate People's Court in Beijing "notice" Time of. Prove it by time comparison, Two appellants issued "notice" It is because Changzhou Mingfa Company does not fulfill the effective judgment of the Beijing High Court of appeal grounds are simply untenable. There was a lot of back-and-forth, The court summarized the main points of dispute in the case, The reasons and evidence of the parties to the lawsuit are comprehensively reviewed, It also analyzes the deep-seated reasons of many lawsuits including this one, It is the estrangement and distrust between the two sides after the cooperation ended, Plus the market competition is relatively fierce, It is hard to avoid friction in some links; As long as both parties trust each other, Reasonable publicity, Fair competition, Some contradictions might not arise, Even if it does happen, it can be easily resolved. Based on this, The court of second instance solemnly recommended mutual understanding and accommodation, Focus on the future, Settlement of a case.

Under the auspices of the provincial High Court, Changzhou Mingfa Company and Germany Gonow Company, Sunangio eventually reached a settlement: Germany Gio Company and Sunanggio Company one-time compensation Changzhou Mingfa Company RMB 8. 5 Ten thousand yuan; Sunangio Company deleted its website about Changzhou Mingfa Company involved "notice" , Changzhou name development Company shall not appear in the future publicity and "Gonow company" Relevant expressions in both Chinese and English; Changzhou name development Company to give up other claims, No more demands for written apologies from German and Sunangio; The parties undertake to operate in good faith, Fair competition, Do not accuse relevant parties of unfair competition.

So far, A battle where the smoke is invisible, Make peace by the hands of all parties, Draw down the curtain.

(source: Jiangsu Legal News)