Recently, the Beijing High Court concluded a second instance trademark infringement dispute between the French Champagne Industry Commission (the "Champagne Commission"), Guangzhou Xuelei Cosmetics Co., Ltd. ("Guangzhou Xuelei"), and Beijing Yalishadi Cosmetics Co., Ltd. ("Beijing Yalishadi"). The court held that the "Champagne" mark with reg. no. 11127266 and the "Champagne in Chinese" mark with reg. no. 11127267 constituted well-known marks on wine and other goods. Guangzhou Xuelei and Beijing Yalishadi should immediately stop the infringement and compensate for economic losses and reasonable expenses of RMB 220,000 (USD 30,980).
Cited Marks
The court found that: First, based on the sales scope, sales volume and sales price of Champagne wine in the Chinese market, and the facts such as the advertising, honors and protected records of the registered "Champagne" and "Champagne in Chinese" marks in mainland China, it was sufficient to conclude that before the infringement occurred on July 5, 2019, the Champagne Commission's "Champagne" and "Champagne in Chinese" marks have gained high visibility and influence on wine products, and were widely known to the relevant public and constituted well-known marks.
Second, although the packaging boxes and bottles of the accused infringing products were still marked with the words "MeiDun" and "Mei Dun in Chinese," there are many cases in the market where two or more commercial logos are used on the same product at the same time. The existence of a commercial logo does not necessarily affect the role of other logos in distinguishing the source of goods. The allegedly infringing goods prominently use the "Champagne Life" and "Champagne Life in Chinese" logos on the bottle and packaging box in a more eye-catching manner. The said acts obviously have the purpose of indicating the source of the goods to enable the relevant public to distinguish different product providers, which constituted as trademark use under the Trademark Law.
Third, although the perfume product used by the accused logo and the wine product for which the "Champagne" mark is approved and famous for use are not classified as the same or similar goods according to the CNIPA Classification of Goods and Services, there are relatively large overlap among the relevant public. The "Champagne" and "Champagne in Chinese" marks have been widely known to the public, when the accused logos "Champagne Life" and "Champagne Life in Chinese" were used on the accused infringing goods, it was enough to cause the relevant public's misunderstanding of the source of goods with the said well-known marks, which constituted an infringement of the Champagne Commission's well-known trademark rights, and it should bear corresponding legal liability.
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