China’s Supreme Court backs Under Armour in TM suit
Under Armour has won its trademark lawsuit at China’s top court against a local sports apparel manufacturer it accused of imitating its brand.
The decision, published yesterday, June 23, by the Supreme People’s Court, affirms a lower court’s ruling that the owners of the Uncle Martian brand infringed the US sportswear company’s trademarks.
Local shoe manufacturer Tingfei Long Sporting Goods (TFL) will have to pay Under Armour almost $300,000 in damages for the infringement, and publish a court-approved statement on its Webio channel.
A translated version of the decision, seen by WIPR, said that TFL’s actions had “taken a free ride on the goodwill of Under Armour, will easily cause confusion and misrecognition among consumers about the source of goods and the relationship between two parties”.
Lawyers for Under Armour at US-based law firm Finnegan, said the court’s decision is a rare win for foreign brand owners in China.
Governments such as the US and EU have criticised China for enabling the exploitation of foreign companies’ IP by local companies.
Improving foreign companies’ confidence about doing business and protecting their IP in China has been a key policy aim of President Xi Jinping’s government.
Beijing has rolled out several key reforms, including a law aiming to crack down on bad faith trademark registrations, and enhanced punitive damages.
Under Armour originally sued TFL in 2016 at a court in Fujian province after it launched the Uncle Martian brand at a fashion event in China.
The Chinese brand was described by Western media outlets, as well as Under Armour’s lawyers, as “blatantly” copying the US company’s logo.
The People’s Higher Court of Fujian ruled in Under Armour’s favour, granting a preliminary injunction and damages against TFL.
After a challenge from TFL, the Supreme People’s Court upheld the lower Fujian court’s findings and noted that TFL had acted in “bad faith” by violating the terms of the injunction.
It is another high-profile win for foreign brand owners in the country. New Balance won a record $1.5 million damages award against three local shoemakers in 2017.
In January this year, meanwhile, Lego won an injunction and $680,000 in damages against the owners of the Lepin “imitator” brand.
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