After a 3-year battles with Jaguar Cars Ltd's (hereinafter refers to as Jaguar Co.), a British manufacturer of luxury auto, Sichuan Jiepao Taxi Limited Company (hereinafter refers to as Jiepao Co.), a local Taxi company, finally obtained a decision from the China Trademark Office (TMO) under the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC) which is in favor of Jiepao Co. and the registration of trademarks “捷跑JIEPAO” was approved.
Jiepao Co. was established by a local resident in Sichuan in 2003 and in 2004, the trademark “捷跑JIEPAO” was filed before TMO.
In 2008, Jaguar Co. opposed the mark “捷跑JIEPAO” and requested for rejection of mark in Class 12,35,37 and 39. Jaguar Co. alleged that the mark “捷跑JIEPAO” was similar to its registered mark “捷豹JIEBAO” in appearance and in pronunciation, which was most likely to cause confusion among consumers. Jaguar Co. also claimed that “捷豹JIEBAO” has been extensively used in China and enjoyed a high reputation among the public. Jiepao Co. deliberately free-rided on the reputation of the mark “捷豹JIEBAO”.
Jiepao Co. argued that 捷跑 (JIEPAO) is a creative phrase used in taxi industry, meaning more passenger and fast speed. Further, Jiepao Co. started the taxi business earlier than the sale of Jaguar cars in China.
After examination, the TMO held that the trademarks “捷跑JIEPAO” and “捷豹JIEBAO”、"JAGUAR" were not similar marks and made the ruling in favor of Jiepao Co.
