Civil Disputes over the Conflict between Registered Trademark or Enterprise Name with Prior Right

 2018-08-14  1361


· Document Number:Interpretation No.3 [2008] of the Supreme People’s Court

· Area of Law: Civil Law

· Level of Authority: Judicial Interpretation

· Date issued:02-18-2008

· Effective Date:03-01-2008

· Issuing Authority: Supreme People's Court

· Status: Effective

 

Announcement of the Supreme People's Court of the People's Republic of China
The Provisions of the Supreme People's Court on Issues Concerned in the Trial of Cases of Civil Disputes over the Conflict between Registered Trademark or Enterprise Name with Prior Right, which were adopted at the 1444th meeting of the judicial committee of the Supreme People's Court on February 18th, 2008, are hereby promulgated, and shall come into force as of March 1st, 2008.
February 18th, 2008
Provisions of the Supreme People's Court on Issues Concerned in the Trial of Cases of Civil Disputes over the Conflict between Registered Trademark or Enterprise Name with Prior Right
(Interpretation No.3 [2008] of the Supreme People's Court)
To correctly try cases of civil disputes over the conflict between registered trademark or enterprise name with prior right, by taking judicial practices into account, these Provisions are formulated in accordance with the Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China, the General Principles of the Civil Law of the People's Republic of China, the Trademark Law of the People's Republic of China, the Anti-unfair Competition Law of the People's Republic of China and other relevant laws.
Article 1 For a lawsuit filed on the ground that the character or graphic used in the registered trademark of other party infringes upon the plaintiff's copyright, patent right for a design, right to enterprise name or other prior right, if the lawsuit conforms to the provision of Article 108 of the Civil Procedure Law, the people's court shall accept it.
If the lawsuit is filed on the ground that a registered trademark used by other party on approved commodities is identical or similar to the prior registered trademark of the plaintiff, the people's court shall, in accordance with the provision of Article 111 (3) of the Civil Procedure Law, notify the plaintiff to apply to the competent administrative authority for settling the issue. But if the lawsuit is filed on the ground that a registered trademark used by other party beyond the approved scope of commodities or by changing the predominant feature of the trademark, splitting it or combining it with others is identical or similar to the registered trademark of the plaintiff, the people's court shall accept it.
Article 2 For a lawsuit filed, on the basis of Article 5 (3) of the Anti-unfair Competition Law, on the ground that the enterprise name of other party is identical or similar to the prior registered enterprise name of the plaintiff to the extent that it is easy for the public to become confused about the source of the plaintiff's commodity, and if the lawsuit conforms to the provision of Article 108 of the Civil Procedure Law, the people's court shall accept it.
Article 3 The people's court shall, in light of the plaintiff's claim and the nature of the disputable civil legal relationship, in accordance with the Provision on Cause of Action of Civil Cases (for Trial Implementation), determine the cause of action of a case of civil dispute over the conflict between registered trademark or enterprise name and prior right, and apply corresponding laws.
Article 4 If the enterprise name of the defendant infringes upon the right to the exclusive use of a trademark or constitutes unfair competition, the people's court may, by taking the plaintiff's claim and the specific situation of the case into account, order the defendant to stop or regularize the use of enterprise name and assume corresponding civil liability.