On 5^th February 2021, Hong Kong-based legal magazine China Business Law Journal (CBLJ) releases the winners of its "Deals of the Year 2020" Award.

Two deals of Wanhuida Intellectual Property: "Lukfook Jewellery wins TM infringement" and “New Balance action against copycat trademarks” are selected to be included in the section of "DISPUTES AND INVESTIGATIONS" by the magazine. The firm has been a winner of the magazine's "Deals of the Year" awards since 2012.

In the Lukfook deal (Deal #11), Wanhuida represented Hong Kong jeweler Lukfook, plaintiff in the first instance and the appellant in the appeal proceeding, in winning a trademark infringement and unfair competition lawsuit against an infringer, obtained court injunction and damages of RMB 6 million.

In the New Balance (NB) deal (Deal #17), Wanhuida represented NB in the re-adjudication proceeding before China’s Supreme People’s Court, which led to the invalidation of a copycat’s trademark of stylised letter “N” registered in class 25. The deal is lauded for its legal significance where bad faith demonstrated in the way a registered trademark is used may have an impact on the determination of the similarity.

The winning deals have, as in previous years, been chosen by the magazine's editorial team based on a number of factors including the overall significance, complexity and innovative nature of the deals, as well as the deal size and broader interests.

China Business Law Journal's independent editorial team made its own choices on the deals they felt were the shining stars for the year. The winning deals and cases have been placed in four sections: deals in China; overseas deals; disputes and investigations; and Belt and Road initiative. For more information of our winning deal, please refer to: https://law.asia/deals-china-2020/