On May 23, 2011, Tianjin No.2 Intermediate People's Court entered into the first-instance judgment in favor of U.S. Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company(hereinafter refers to as Wrigley Co.) and its subsidiary in China against Tianjin Pu Tian Tong Le Food Factory etc. for trademark infringement and unfair competition. The court ordered that the defendants cease using the registered “Extra益达” trademark and compensate Wrigley Co. with 200,000 Renminbi yuan.
Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company is one of the world’s leading candy and chewing gum manufacturers. The Company has registered many famous trademarks and launched many brands all over the world, including “Extra®”. After discovering the defendants unauthorized use of the words “Wrigley Company (H.K.) Limited Producer” on the bottle of the product and illegal use of characteristic packaging of Wrigley’s, the U.S. company alleged that such behavior violated the exclusive right of its registered trademark and that this constituted unfair competition. Wrigley Co. then brought the case into court in 2010.
After reviewing the case, the court held that because the plaintiff’s trademark of “Extra益达” is highly popular and has a large influence on the public’s recognition of the brand, even if the defendants with authorization by the Wrigley Company (H.K.) Limited, these words “by Wrigley Company (H.K.) Limited Producer” would easily lead the consumers to confuse the source of the products, and thereby constituted trademark infringement. Therefore, the court made the above decision.
