First Time Using Seven-Member Collegiate Panel – Case of Infringing "Maotai" Brand

On the morning of August 23, Guizhou Maotai Liquor Co., Ltd. (referred to as Guizhou Maotai) sued Liquor Co., Ltd. at Maotai Town, Renhuai City, Guizhou Province (referred to as Zhongqian Liquor Co., Ltd.) and YueQian Tea Liquor Co., Ltd. at Longhua District, Shenzhen City (referred to as Guangdong and Guizhou Chamber of Commerce) for infringement of trademark rights. The trial was held in the Second Trial Chamber of Qianhai, Shenzhen Intellectual Property Court.

The case involves Maotai, a well-known brand and trademark, which has great social impact and high attention. The plaintiff, Guizhou Maotai, is a well-known enterprise in Chinese liquor industry. Its product, Guizhou Maotai Liquor, and its trademark "Guizhou Maotai Liquor" have a high reputation domestically and internationally.

The plaintiff, Guizhou Maotai, believed that the "Guizhou Maotai Town Commercial Liquor" manufactured and sold by the liquor industry in Central Guizhou and the "Guizhou Maotai Town Commercial Liquor" sold by the Guangdong and Guizhou Commercial Banks violated four well-known trademarks. The registered text trademark, the circular pattern trademark, the trademark marks used in packaging, decoration, are very similar to the plaintiff products of "Guizhou Maotai", deliberately deceiving and misleading consumers, and causing confusion. In this regard, the defendant should bear legal responsibility for infringement and compensate the plaintiff for losses.

The 3D scanning technology is used in the court scene to compare Maotai trademark and infringement products' logo. Through on-the-spot observation and detailed comparison, the details of the evidence can be viewed directly on the TV screen by the judges and the two parties during the court session, which greatly facilitates the display of the court evidence and infringement comparison.

This is the first time that the Shenzhen Intellectual Property Court has adopted a seven-member collegial panel, which was constituted of three judges and four jurors. In this case, the four jurors were randomly selected from the jury pool of 434 people from different fields such as the alcohol, education, medical treatment, science and technology industry. Their participation made the court's judgment closer to the general understanding of society and the public. 

The Shenzhen Intellectual Property Court confirmed the establishment of trademark infringement, and ruled that the defendant's liquor industry in Zhongqian immediately stopped producing and selling infringed products, and that the Guangdong and Guizhou commercial banks immediately stopped selling infringed products. It also ruled that the liquor industry in Zhongqian compensated Maotai's economic losses and reasonable expenditure for protecting rights totaled RMB 1 million.

November 16, 2019

Source: Shenzhen Economic Daily

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