Bayer AG is the world's leading multinational company with a high reputation in areas of pharmaceutical, agricultural chemical and materials. Bayer (Beijing) Sheet Company Ltd is authorized to use the name "Bayer 拜耳" as the trade name of the company.
In 2006, Zhou Fajun and several individuals established Quzhou Bayer Sunshine Building Materials Co. Ltd.(hereafter refers to as Quzhou Bayer). Without permission from Bayer AG, Quzhou Bayer used the word “Bayer 拜耳” in its shop, advertisements and website.
Bayer AG and Bayer (Beijing) then filed a case before the Court in Quzhou against Quzhou Bayer for unfair competition, based on their famous trade name “Bayer”. After examination, the Court made the first-instance judgment in favor of two plaintiffs and ruled that the defendant should cease the act of unfair competition, change the company name, eliminate the bad influence, and pay a total of 200,000 Renminbi yuan for economic losses.
Not satisfied with the decision, the defendant appealed against the decision before the High People’s Court in Zhejiang Province. In December 2011, the High People’s Court finally upheld the ruling of the first-instance judgment in accordance with the “judicial interpretation of anti-unfair competition law” which provides that trade name of certain reputation can be protected as company name. This will give the rightholders more opportunities in protecting their IP-related rights in China.
