Houfu Qitian Digital Technology Co., Ltd. ("Houfu Qitian") was approved to register the 12 "Chang Gao Dian Xin in Chinese" trademarks in September and October 2022. In November 2022, Houfu Qitian and its affiliated company Changgao Dianxin International Trading Co., Ltd. jointly filed a lawsuit in court, claiming that Changgao Dianxin Technology Co., Ltd.'s use of the "Chang Gao Dian Xin" logo constituted trademark infringement and unfair competition. The Changsha Intermediate Court found that Houfu Qitian has applied for registration of 129 trademarks in just 8 months since its establishment in March 2021, covering 24 classes, and it cannot prove that it has the intention to use. After Changgao Dianxin Technology Co., Ltd. announced it will change its company name due to its listing, Houfu Qitian immediately applied to register the 12 "Chang Gao Dian Xin in Chinese" trademarks and filed a lawsuit demanding a huge compensation of RMB10 million (USD1.4 million). During the trial, all 12 "Chang Gao Dian Xin in Chinese" trademarks have been declared invalid by the CNIPA. The first instance court held that Houfu Qitian and its affiliated company Changgao Dianxin International Trading Co., Ltd. knew that the trademark involved in the case was registered through improper means, but still maliciously filed a trademark lawsuit to demand huge sums of money for the purpose of obtaining illegal benefits. Its action violated the principle of good faith and filed the lawsuit in bad faith and abused its intellectual property rights. The court fined Houfu Qitian and its affiliated company RMB100,000 (USD14,135). Houfu Qitian and Changgao Dianxin International Trading Co., Ltd. petitioned for reconsideration. The Hunan High Court dismissed the petition and affirmed the first instance decision.
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