Recently, Guangdong Dongguan Intermediate People’s Court entered the first instance judgment on the Y-3 trademark case between Adidas International Management Co. Ltd.(hereinafter refers to as Adidas ) and EXXEL International Group and Dongguan Advanced Material Company, in which the two defendants are ordered to cease producing and distributing infringement products, delete relevant websites and pay Adidas Co. 200,000 Renminbi yuan in damages.
Adidas is the operator and manager of “Adidas” brand. It registered several series of trademarks including “Y-3” trademark. On April 2009, Adidas found a travel bag marked with Y3 trademark, and discovered that its dealer is EXXEL International Group. Adidas alleged that the use of “Y3”by the two defendants on products and websites caused no visual difference and resulted in same pronunciation. It is difficult for the relevant public to distinguish the two when normal attention is given.
After examination, the court held that the infringing products are identical with those covered by the plaintiff’s registered trademark in class 18 in terms of function, use, target consumers and distribution channel. The defendants’ acts of using Y3 trademark on the package are enough to mislead and confuse consumers. The court then asked the defendant to cease infringement immediately and pay 200,000 Renmnbi yuan to the plaintiff for damages.
