Resources
May 12,2020
Express n° 6 WHD Case: TM | China protects “Bordeaux” Geographical Indication Collective Mark
Total word count:1138
On May 13, 2019, the Shandong High Court upheld a first instance judgment rendered by the Yantai Intermediate Court in favor of Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux (CIVB), the owner of the “Bordeaux” Geographical Indication (GI) Collective Mark in a civil suit against a local infringer. Both courts found that: 1) the defendant’s unauthorized use of “Bordeaux” infringed CIVB’s collective trademark; 2) the defendant, by using “Bordeaux” as Appellation d'Origine Côntrollée on its products, forged the origin of product. In combination with false advertising claiming all its products are imported from France, the defendant’s acts constituted unfair competition; and 3) taking into account the reputation of “Bordeaux” collective trademark and circumstances of the defendant’s infringement, the defendant shall pay RMB 500,000 as damages. This case is selected as one of the “2019 Top Ten IP Cases” by Shandong High Court.
In November 2019, China concluded with the EU the negotiations on a landmark bilateral agreement on the protection of GI and signed with France the Franco-Chinese protocol on cooperation on GI. The fact that the decision predates the inking of both agreement reflects China judiciary's strong protection of foreign geographical indications.
In November 2019, China concluded with the EU the negotiations on a landmark bilateral agreement on the protection of GI and signed with France the Franco-Chinese protocol on cooperation on GI. The fact that the decision predates the inking of both agreement reflects China judiciary's strong protection of foreign geographical indications.
Contributed by: Zhigang Zhu