A trademark dispute between Unilever and a natural person Ma Jihui (hereinafter referred to as Ma) has recently been decided. The Trademark Review and Adjudication Board (TRAB) under the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC) made a ruling to cancel Ma's registered mark "丽仕" (the same pronunciation as “力士” ).
In 2006, Ma applied for registration of trademark "丽仕" to be used in Class 3 for shampoo and other daily product and was approved registration in 2009. In August 2010, Ma filed a lawsuit against Unilever and its distributors for infringement of his registered trademark "丽仕" before Guangzhou Baiyun District People's Court, alleging that Unilever used the trademark "丽仕" on the same kind of products which infringed his exclusive right of the trademark.
However, Unilever already filed a case to cancel Ma’s trademark of "丽仕" in April 2010.
Arguing that the registration of the trademark "丽仕" was identical to its prior registered trademark of "LUX力士" in terms of pronunciation and classes of goods, which would lead to consumers’confusion.
Based on the evidences provided by Unilever, TRAB held that the two trademarks were similar in pronunciation and are used in the same class of goods. In addition, "LUX力士" had a high reputation before the registration of trademark "丽仕" and the trademark of "丽仕" would easily cause confusion among consumers. Therefore, TRAB made a ruling in favor of Unilever and canceled the registration of trademark "丽仕".
