The name of China’s prestigious Tsinghua University has been used fraudulently by the healthcare product “Tsinghua Lipoprotein” in recent years. Beijing Shuimu Bo Public Technology Development Center and Luoyang Tsinghua Bozhong Biotechnology Co., Ltd., the developer and manufacturer of the product, have used the word “Tsinghua” in prominent positions on the packing, brochures, TV commercials, newspaper and online advertisements for their products without the consent of Tsinghua since 2003 to promote sales and publicity of the product in a way that has misled the public.
To safeguard the right ofTsinghuaUniversityto the exclusive use of its own trademark, Lawyer Li Decheng, senior partner of JT&N, and Lawyer Lin Wei represented Tsinghua in bringing a lawsuit against the above developer and producer to the Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People’s Court, claiming over RMB500,000 yuan as compensation for economic losses and reasonable expenses. Recently, the court held a hearing of the case, which drew extensive attention due to the involvement of one of the most prestigious universities inChina. The two attorneys received interviews from the media after the court closed the hearing.
Before the court hearing, objections to jurisdiction were raised several times. At the court hearing, the defendants argued that a difference exists in the trademark registration categories of the two sides, which negates the charge of infringement. JT&N held that the trademark “Tsinghua” has been recognized as a well-known trademark for a long time and should receive trans-category protection. The two defendants made prominent use of the “Tsinghua” trademark on the outer packaging and in the sales publicity of their infringing products, which is a serious misdirection of the public. Also, the reputation ofTsinghuaUniversitywas heavily tarnished by the multiple penalties imposed on the advertisements of the two defendants by local drug administration authorities.
阅读原文