Recently, the Beijing Haidian District People’s Court issued a first-instance judgment in favor of a world-renowned sports brand represented by NTD Intellectual Property Attorneys (NTD), ruling that the defendant had committed trademark infringement. The court ordered the defendant to immediately cease infringement, publish a public statement to eliminate adverse effects, and awarded the plaintiff full compensation of RMB 1 million, covering both economic losses and reasonable legal expenses.

Case Overview

In this case, the defendant’s infringing marks shared only initial letters with the client’s registered trademarks, while the remaining letters and design elements differed. Judicial practice tends to adopt a conservative approach toward such "minor differences". To overcome this challenge, the NTD legal team devised the following strategy: one the one hand, NTD conducted comprehensive search and evidence collection for bad faith imitation, including use of other suspiciously similar marks resembling the client’s trademarks, mimicking the color schemes and placement of the client’s trademarks in actual use and a prior rejected trademark application by the defendant for one of the infringing marks; on the other hand, NTD highlighted the high reputation of the client’s trademarks, emphasized the infringing products directly competed with the goods for which the client’s marks were well-known, and argued that the relevant consumers’ level of attention was generally low, increasing the risk of confusion. Through these efforts, NTD successfully persuaded the court to rule that all disputed marks constituted trademark infringement, overcoming the initial hurdle of "partial similarity".

The defendant failed to appear in court or submit sales records, while e-commerce platform data was incomplete. Undeterred, NTD developed a damages calculation model based on sales records obtained from platforms, industry-average profit margins, the market reputation of the client’s trademarks, the long duration and large scale of the defendant’s infringement. This robust methodology led the court to fully accept NTD’s claim, awarding the maximum requested damages of RMB 1 million.

Case Significance

This victory not only safeguarded the client’s legitimate rights but also showcased NTD’s exceptional litigation capabilities. By leveraging deep legal expertise and strategic case management, NTD achieved the client’s three key objectives: cessation of infringement, elimination of reputational harm and full monetary compensation.

The case was handled by NTD’s Partner Jenny Huang and Da LIU.

Jenny HUANG

Jenny is specialized in legal services related to intellectual property, unfair competition, data protection, corporate compliance, and other fields. Since joining NTD in 2014, Jenny has represented numerous domestic and international clients in handling brand protection strategies and full-process protection of brand operations, including trademark administrative litigation, trademark civil litigation, administrative enforcement, trademark transfer and negotiation, domain name disputes, customs protection, commercial franchising, and commercial arbitration. Many of the cases handled by Jenny have been selected as typical/excellent cases by institutions such as the Beijing Higher People's Court, China Trademark Association, Beijing Trademark Association, and Beijing Xicheng District Lawyer Association. Meanwhile, she has successfully overturned several civil cases in the retrial procedures. Her diligent and professional spirit and rich experience in litigation and arbitration have been recognized by many clients.

Da LIU

Da has been engaged in legal services since 2018, mainly practicing intellectual property litigation, trademark application and prosecution cases, contract review and handling, and perennial legal counsel in intellectual property and personnel etc., and has accumulated rich experience in these fields.

Da regularly works with clients engaged in the communication services, sportswear, mechanical products, daily necessities and other industries, including many top-tier multinational companies in China, USA and Europe.