Trademark Infringement

Trademark infringement refers to using a mark that is identical/similar with a registered mark in connection with identical/similar goods/services; or interfering or disturbing the use of a registered mark by its registrant and other act that will damage the legitimate benefits of trademark registrant.

Where a party sells goods that it knows bears a counterfeit registered trademark, the trademark registrant has the right to request the infringer to stop infringement, eliminate the influence and compensate for economic loss.

In trademark infringement, the infringer usually needs to take responsibilities of ceasing its infringing activity immediately. For infringers who knows or should know the infringement, it also needs to make a compensation. And in case of serious circumstance, the infringer would be prosecuted for their criminal liabilities. Specific articles are set in Chinese Criminal Law for punishing intellectual property crimes.

Types of trademark infringement

Article 57 of China Trademark Law says, any of the following constitutes an infringement of the exclusive right to use a registered trademark:

• Using a trademark that is identical with a registered trademark in connection with the same goods without the authorization of the owner of the registered trademark;
• Using a trademark that is similar to a registered trademark in connection with the same goods, or that is identical with or similar to a registered trademark in connection with the same or similar goods, without the authorization of the owner of the registered trademark, which may cause public confusion;
• Selling goods that violate the exclusive right to use a registered trademark;
• Counterfeiting, or making, without authorization, representations of another party’s registered trademark, or selling such representations;
• Altering another party’s registered trademark without authorization and selling goods bearing such an altered trademark;
• Help any others to infringe the exclusive right to use its registered trademark with intention to provide convenience for infringing the exclusive right to use its registered trademark;
• Otherwise causing prejudice to another party’s exclusive right to use its registered trademark.