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Global IP Matrix - Issue 4

We are delighted to present the fourth issue of The Global IP Matrix magazine to you, our loyal readers. We have had an amazing year and grown immensely in popularity since our launch of the GIP Matrix at INTA in Seattle in 2018. When we first launched the Global IP Matrix our main goal was to produce an IP publication like no other to educate and captivate our audience with raw, undiluted news reported to you by world-renowned IP professionals from all over the globe (who are experts at knowing how the land lies in the global IP world) and we have achieved this! Over the last year, we have continued to work with leading IP law firms and service providers to ensure our publication has something for everyone with an involvement in this very interesting industry. We hope that you really enjoy this issue and many more to come. Thank you all, for helping us in exceeding our expectations. From all of us at & The Global IP Matrix & Northon’s Media, PR & Marketing Ltd

We are delighted to present the fourth issue of The Global IP Matrix magazine to you, our loyal readers.

We have had an amazing year and grown immensely in popularity since our launch of the GIP Matrix at INTA in Seattle in 2018.

When we first launched the Global IP Matrix our main goal was to produce an IP publication like no other to educate and captivate our audience with raw, undiluted news reported to you by world-renowned IP professionals from all over the globe (who are experts at knowing how the land lies in the global IP world) and we have achieved this!

Over the last year, we have continued to work with leading IP law firms and service providers to ensure our publication has something for everyone with an involvement in this very interesting industry.

We hope that you really enjoy this issue and many more to come.
Thank you all, for helping us in exceeding our expectations.

From all of us at & The Global IP Matrix & Northon’s Media, PR & Marketing Ltd

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New Development against Bad Faith<br />

Applications in China<br />

Background<br />

In recent years, with the in-depth<br />

implementation of the trademark<br />

and brand strategy plus the<br />

continuous promotion of the<br />

reform of trademark registration<br />

facilitation, the number of<br />

trademark applications in China<br />

has been growing continuously.<br />

As a result, the title of the top ranking<br />

on new trademark applications in<br />

the world has been maintained by<br />

China for many years in a row. In<br />

2018, 7.3895 million trademark<br />

applications were unbelievably<br />

filed nationwide with an increase<br />

of 1.416 million over 2017 and a<br />

growth rate of 23.72 percent.<br />

However, among the big filing numbers,<br />

some trademark applications filed by small<br />

numbers of applicants obviously exceed the<br />

real needs of normal operation. In addition,<br />

these small numbers of applicants do not<br />

hoard a large number of trademarks for the<br />

purpose of use, which hinders other brand<br />

owners with normal operation needs in<br />

China from applying for their trademark<br />

applications. Also what is more serious is<br />

that they are willing to transfer the hoarded<br />

trademarks to real brand owners at a very<br />

high price to obtain illegitimate interests.<br />

Malicious hoarding of trademarks disturbs<br />

the market order of fair competition and the<br />

order of trademark registration management<br />

and also wastes administrative and judicial<br />

resources. These kind of “abnormal”<br />

trademark applications are the target which<br />

the trademark administrative authorities<br />

attack emphatically.<br />

Facing the hoarding trademarks in bad faith<br />

and other “abnormal” trademark application<br />

acts, the Chinese Trademark Office and<br />

the Trademark Review and Adjudication<br />

Board of the China National Intellectual<br />

Property Administration of the trademark,<br />

and the people’s courts have taken many<br />

different measures, such as a review in<br />

advance even from the filing stage and an<br />

incorporate review to apply the law strictly.<br />

These measures effectively curb the behavior<br />

of hoarding trademarks in bad faith, such<br />

as possession of public resources without<br />

legal reason and new trademark applications<br />

repeatedly filed by trademark squatters. It also<br />

plays a positive role to maintain the market<br />

order of fair competition and promote the<br />

market main body to use the brand strategy<br />

and achieve innovation and development.<br />

Developments<br />

Recently, a judgment on trademark hoarding<br />

has attracted wide attention in China<br />

among the intellectual property owners.<br />

Wuhan Zhongjun Campus Service co.,<br />

LTD. (hereinafter referred to as Wuhan<br />

Zhongjun) applied for a retrial before the<br />

China Supreme People’s Court because it was<br />

dissatisfied with the invalidation decision of<br />

Mr. Lei Zhao - Senoir Partner at Unitalen<br />

www.unitalen.com<br />

its trademark registration for “shining silver”<br />

in Chinese character No. 13675000. In the<br />

end, the Supreme People’s Court made an<br />

administrative and final ruling which is not in<br />

favor of Wuhan Zhongjun.<br />

The supreme people’s court pointed out in<br />

the retrial ruling: if the trademark applicant<br />

violates the provisions of article 4 of the<br />

trademark law, has no real purpose of use,<br />

and hoarded a large number of trademarks<br />

without justifiable reasons for seeking<br />

improper interests, it may be deemed<br />

to belong to the ‘other improper means’<br />

stipulated in the first paragraph of article 44<br />

of the trademark law.<br />

What did this enterprise do in the<br />

past? Why was it finally considered<br />

by the Supreme People’s Court that<br />

it registered and hoarded a large<br />

number of trademarks for seeking<br />

improper interests, not based on its<br />

normal production and business<br />

activities?<br />

According to the search on the official website<br />

of the Chinese Trademark Office, Wuhan<br />

Zhongjun has applied for a total of 934<br />

trademarks including the the dispute mark<br />

“shining silver”, word mark for “Five eight”,<br />

“Zhifubao shining silver” and “Huixin shining<br />

silver” in Chinese characters, which obviously<br />

belong to other Chinese brand owners, on a<br />

variety of goods and services. Actually, “Five<br />

Eight” is one of the most famous internet<br />

service providers in China, “Zhifubao” in<br />

Chinese character means Alipay which belong<br />

to Alibaba Group and “Huixin” in Chinese<br />

Character looks quite similar to Wechat in<br />

Chinese character. Furthermore, it was even<br />

worse that Wuhan Zhongjun was publicly<br />

selling the trademark on the Internet.<br />

It is impossible to put into use nearly a<br />

thousand trademarks. After inquiring the<br />

major trademark sales websites in China,<br />

it can be found that some trademarks of<br />

Wuhan Zhongjun are listed on the trademark<br />

websites for sale. In addition, according to<br />

the communication between a newspapers<br />

reporter and the agent of those websites, some<br />

trademarks can be sold for as much as 60,000<br />

12 www.gipmatrix.com RMB each at least.<br />

13

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