Tsinghua Trademark Disputes, Opportunities for Law Dissemination

kindergarten

Tsinghua University has sued a number of "Tsinghua kindergartens" for using its name.  It is reported that the Ganzhou Intermediate People's Court heard five trademark infringement and unfair competition cases on May 8 with Tsinghua University as the plaintiff and local educational institutions as defendants.

In 1998, Tsinghua University registered the trademark.

Article 56 of the Chinese Trademark Law regulates that “the exclusive right to use a registered trademark shall be limited to the trademark registered upon verification and approval". Therefore, Tsinghua University has every right to file a lawsuit against trademark infringement. Article 57 of the Chinese Trademark Law regulate that “where any party uses the same trademark on the same product, without the authorization from the trademark registrant” and “where any party uses similar trademark on the same product; or the same or similar trademark on similar products that could mislead the public” constitutes an infringement of the right to use the registered trademark. Since Tsinghua University has registered the trademark and the university itself has become a renowned brand,  it’s obvious that those Tsinghua kindergartens have constituted infringement.Besides, relevant administrations have stipulated that “ private schools may not use the registered school name, its abbreviation or special title”.

Tsinghua University successfully applied for the "Tsinghua" trademark for education in November, 1998, whereas the Tsinghua Kindergarten of Shicheng County was established in August, 1998. Can the kindergarten raise a plead from the point that it used the trademark before Tsinghua trademark was approved?

Article 59 of the Chinese Trademark Law stipulates that “where an identical or similar trademark has been used in connection with the same goods or similar goods by others before the registrant’s application, the exclusive right holder of the said registered trademark shall have no right to prohibit prior users from using the aforesaid trademark from continuous use of such trademark within the original scope, but may request its prior users to add proper marks for distinction”. If Tsinghua Kindergarten wants to propose prior use, the trademark must be used before Tsinghua University's application (in September, 1997), and it must have certain influence and no malice.

The university appealed to the court to order  the defendants to immediately stop the infringement, publish an apology for one month, and compensate for economic losses and related expenses totaling 500,000 Yuan (USD 73,560).

May 16, 2019

Source: Prosecution Daily

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