Yahoo Finance Burberry Wins Trademark Infringement Lawsuit in China
LONDON — Burberry has emerged victorious in a trademark infringement legal battle in China.
According to Lusheng, a Chinese law firm and patent agency specializing in multinational intellectual property, the British luxury brand has been awarded more than 6 million renminbi, or 675,668 pounds, in damages in a lawsuit against Xinboli Trading Shanghai in a final hearing in the Jiangsu Provincial High People’s Court. Lusheng represented Burberry in the case.
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The court concluded that the defendant has sold and advertised products using Burberry’s protected checked graphic trademarks on Tmall and WeChat, along with the trademark “Baneberry” and a registered logo resembling Burberry’s Equestrian Knight design.
It has also hosted more than 40 pop-up stores over 12 months across China to further amplify the infringing activities, added the court.
Damages were calculated based on the total number of infringements. Lusheng said it collected and submitted more than 5,000 pages of evidence on behalf of Burberry to prove that its trademarks were already well-known in China when the company applied for trademark registration in 2006 and 2009, respectively.
The law firm said the final judgment built on a prior one that temporarily prevented the defendant from selling merchandise while litigation continued.
Amily Chen, managing IP counsel at Burberry, said: “China is home to one of the largest luxury goods markets globally, making it a key market for Burberry. Upholding our brand reputation in China is critical, and thanks to Lusheng’s skill and commitment to local enforcement, we’ve been able to maintain a high level of protections on our brand.”
Alice Yu, lead attorney at Lusheng, added: “This case marks an important moment in Chinese IP litigation. Strategically, it shows how well-positioned China is for temporary injunction protection and combating malicious trademark registrations, and it signposts confidence in China’s judiciary. We’re seeing that seeking civil litigation and even interim injunctions is increasingly becoming a way for brands to resolve bad-faith trademark squatting in China.”
With offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, Lusheng has advised and represented a slew of global brands, including Cartier, New Balance, Crocs, Nivea and Land Rover, on intellectual property-related disputes in China.
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