On 18 April, Guangzhou Intellectual Property Court organized a judicial protection exchange symposium and judicial opening day event on “Focusing on Manufacturing Industry as the Leader and Serving High Quality Development”. At the symposium, the top ten typical cases by Guangzhou Intellectual Property Court in 2022 were released. The case of “Today’s Headlines” v. “Today Youtiao” in the dispute over trademark infringement and unfair competition represented by Shang Jiaquan, a partner of Globe-Law, Yuan Ji, a legal counsel of Globe-Law, and attorney ZhangYing was successfully selected.

Case 2: Reasonably Delimit the Boundary of Rights and Safeguard the Legitimate Rights and Interests of the Public-“Today's Headlines” v. “Today Youtiao” in the Dispute over Trademark Infringement and Unfair Competition

[(2020) Yue 73 Min Chu No.2332]

Parties

Plaintiff： Beijing Douyin Information Service Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Douyin”).

Defendants: Henan Today Youtiao Catering Management Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Today Youtiao”), Zhao Yadong and Henan Barbecue Food Co., Ltd (hereinafter referred to as “Barbecue Company”).

Case Brief and Judgment:

Guangzhou Intellectual Property Court held through trial that the sued logo and the registered trademark asserted in the case did not constitute the same or similar logos in terms of words, meanings, colors and other elements, and it was easy for the relevant public to distinguish them with general attention; the existing evidence failed to prove that Today Youtiao and others had the intention of confusion or caused actual confusion among the public; therefore, the acts of Today Youtiao and others did not constitute ordinary trademark infringement. The words “頭條” and “今日頭條” used in the registered trademark asserted in the case are commonly used words, and their use in the field of news and information is inherently weak in distinctiveness. The alleged infringing logo and the registered trademark asserted in the case are used in completely different markets, and Douyin has no real interests in the catering field, and there is no direct or indirect competition between the two parties in this market. Today Youtiao and others have not weakened, derogated or vilified the well-known trademark, nor have they improperly used the market reputation of the well-known trademark. Therefore, even if some of the registered trademarks asserted in the case can be determined as well-known trademarks, the acts of Today Youtiao and others do not constitute an infringement of well-known trademarks. Today Youtiao’s company name “Today Youtiao” and “Today’s Headlines” are obviously different. The alleged infringing logo used in its WeChat official account and website is not identical with or similar to the running interface of the mobile APP of “Today's Headlines”, and their advertising slogans and posters are different, so the act of Today Youtiao does not constitute unfair competition. The first-instance judgment of Guangzhou Intellectual Property Court rejected all the claims of Douyin.

Typical Significance:

This case involves the well-known trademark of “Today's Headlines”, and Douyin is a well-known domestic self-media company. This case has aroused widespread discussion and great concern from the society since it was filed. It is necessary and justified to give special protection to well-known trademarks from the aspects of protecting diligence, encouraging innovation and maintaining fairness, and from the perspective of safeguarding consumers' legitimate rights and interests. However, for the special protection of well-known trademarks, the protection boundary should be reasonably defined based on the principle of balance of interests to avoid arbitrary squeezing of market freedom and fair competition space. The trial of this case has better grasped the balance of interests between enhancing intellectual property protection and preventing intellectual property rights holders from abusing their rights to restrict competition, which has a positive impact on creating a fair competitive market environment.