If this email does not display correctly,
please click here.
No.167 June 28, 2020
 
Subscribe   
 
Contact us  
 
7th Floor,Scitech Place,22 Jianguomenwai Avenue,Beijing 100004,China
T: +8610 59208888
F: +8610 59208588
Web:www.unitalen.com
E-mail:mail@unitalen.com
 
     
     
     
Yang Shuo
 
In this issue
China and European IP Offices Made Joint Declaration on Rendering Support to Global Applicants during Covid-19
China and Malaysia IP Offices Extended PPH Program
 
Cases in Spotlight
Unitalen Client Tencent Won Trademark Invalidation Litigation of First Instance Concerning the Name of Their “Honor of King” Game
 
Unitalen News
Unitalen Selected into 2020 IAM Global Patent 1000 Again
Unitalen Handpicked Top 10 IP Cases of the Firm in 2019
 
 
In this issue

China and European IP Offices Made Joint Declaration on Rendering Support to Global Applicants during Covid-19

 

On July 1, China National Intellectual Property Administration of China (CNIPA) and the European Patent Office (EPO) made a joint declaration on rendering full support to those affected by the Convid19 pandemic.

In the declaration, it’s mentioned that CNIPA and EPO have taken a number of measures to ensure continuous access for the global users to the high-quality patent protection in China and Europe. For example, CNIPA has adopted series measures such as restoration of rights, simplification of materials required for certification and waiver of late fee for patent annual renewal. EPO has provided greater flexibility through extending the time limit and payment deadlines and conducting verbal examination in online video meetings.

(Source: CNIPA website)

 
 
China and Malaysia IP Offices Extended PPH Program

 

Recently, China National Intellectual Property Administration of China (CNIPA) and the Malaysian Intellectual Property Office decided on extending China-Malaysia Pilot Patent Examination Highway (PPH), which was launched on July 1, 2018, for another 2 years from July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2022.

The relevant requirements and procedures for submitting PPH requests to the above offices remain unchanged.

(Source: CNIPA website)

 
 
Cases in Spotlight
 
  
Unitalen Client Tencent Won Trademark Invalidation Litigation of First Instance Concerning the Name of Their “Honor of King” Game

 

Backgrounds:

Tencent's "王者榮耀"( “Honor of the King”) game was officially announced on October 23, 2015, 3 days later, it was released in Apple App Store and quickly became one of the most popular mobile games, as it topped the free game downloads in Apple App Store on the same day and, later on November 8, it was selected into the National E-sports Open Game with 4.5 million daily active players. It has enjoyed a high reputation among the relevant public.

On November 19 of the same year, Guizhou Wenqu Chengyu Wine Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “the third party”) submitted the application for registration of the disputed trademark (No. 18379954) "王者榮耀" for Class 33 for "liquor, fruit wine, wine" and other goods, which was approved on December 28, 2016. The third party had also successfully applied for multiple "王者榮耀" related trademarks in Class 33 and 41, and registered a business name as "貴州王者榮耀酒業(yè)有限公司”( “Guizhou Honor of King Wine Co., Ltd.”).

On June 19, 2018, Tencent filed a trademark invalidation request against the disputed trademark with the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board (TRAB) of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce. However, TRAB ruled on February 22, 2019 to maintain the registration of the disputed trademark. Tencent then entrusted Unitalen Attorneys at Law to initiate an administrative lawsuit against the TRAB ruling at Beijing IP Court.

Court decision:

Beijing IP Court supported our client’s claims based on Article 32 of the Trademark Law and held that:

1.The "王者榮耀"(Honor of King) game has gained high popularity in a short period of time when it was launched, and was well known to the relevant public before the date of the trademark application, so that its name can be protected as a prior right of the title of the work;

2.The "王者榮耀" game belongs to the field of daily entertainment. Its peripheral products usually cover a variety of fields such as beverages, food, and daily necessities. It’s proved by the plaintiff’s evidences that the popularity of the title of "王者榮耀" game can reach daily life spheres;

3.The "liquor, fruit wine, wine" and other goods in Class 33, which are approved for designated use by the disputed trademark, are also goods of daily life, so that they reach almost the same group of audiences. Registering and using the trademark on these goods may easily mislead the relevant public to perceive of a specific connection between these goods and Tencent’s "王者榮耀" game, which then takes advantage of the market competitive advantage and trading opportunities that shall be enjoyed by Tencent;

4.Combined with the aforementioned popularity level and audience scope, and the fact that the third party had also applied for multiple related trademarks, the third party's application for the disputed trademark is of subjectively malicious.

Therefore, the Beijing IP Court made the ruling of first-instance on June 17, 2020, and found that the registration of the disputed trademark had violated the prior rights and interests enjoyed by Tencent based on the title of the prior work "王者榮耀" , as well as the provisions in Article 32 of the Trademark Law. The administrative decision made by TRAB, the defendant, was revoked.

Typical Significance:

In the “Press Conference on the Trail of Cases concerning Protection of Prior Right of Titles of Works” held by the Beijing IP Court on June 19, this case was used as a typical case for illustration.   

 
 
Unitalen News
Unitalen Selected into 2020 IAM Global Patent 1000 Again

 

IAM had recently published the IAM Patent 1000 rankings of 2020. Unitalen, again, was selected among the“IAM Global Patent 1000”and presented as a recommended firm in patent litigation and patent filing. Meanwhile, Deshan Li, the deputy director of Unitalen, and Wei Pan, Ph.D, the senior partner of Unitalen, appear in the distinguished personnel as a well-known expert in patent filing.

 
 
Unitalen Handpicked Top 10 IP Cases of the Firm in 2019

Our firm had recently selected Top 10 typical cases from the numerous litigations represented in 2019, covering the areas of trademark determination, trademark infringement, unfair competition, patent infringement and determination of non-infringement, copyright infringement and unfair competition, as follows:

Top 1. “Xiaomi” Won the 50M Yuan Indemnity in the Trademark Infringement and Unfair Competition Litigation

Top 2. “YINGLIENERGY” Trademark Infringement and Unfair Competition Litigation

Top 3. DJI Won the Litigation Concerning Trademark Infringement and Unfair Competition

Top 4. Chongqing Lifan Patent Invalidation Litigation Retrial

Top 5. Sogou vs. Baidu Patent Invalidation Litigation concerning the “Vocabulary Upgrade” Basic Patent

Top 6. A Patent Invalidation Case Concerning the Method Used in the Construction of the Largest Hydroelectric Dam in the World

Top 7. Shenyang Shuanghui vs. “Laoweichang” Sausage Industrial Design Invalidation Litigation

Top 8. “WeChat Red Pocket” Design Works and “WeChat Emoticons” Copyright Infringement and Unfair Competition Litigation

Top 9. d-heaven vs. Apicloud Copyright Infringement Litigation Concerning Computer Software

Top 10. A Chinese company vs. a UAE company Un-approval and Non-enforcement of an ICC Arbitration