Chinese court hears 500 trademark cases

A lower court in China has handled more than 500 trademark cases since 2002, a court official said.

The Shanghai number two people’s court said it has heard 521 cases involving alleged trademark infringement between 2002 and 2013.

Li Guoquan, a deputy chief at the court, released the number during a news conference last week, according to Chinese news website The Global Times.

Guoquan said around 32 percent of the cases involved trademarks registered in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, including infringements of established brands including Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Nike as well as Starbucks and Johnnie Walker.

In one case, US-based Intel Corp sued Shenzhen Yintejia Co for using the Intel trademark on its printer components.

In 80 percent of the cases, the court gave plaintiffs less than 200,000 yuan ($32,000) because they were not able to prove that they suffered financial losses from the violations.

China has made increased efforts to improve its IP protection in recent years, including a newly implemented trademark law introduced in September last year.

On Saturday, Chinese news station China Central Television reported that a new online system for right holders to monitor potential trademark infringements had seen more than 1,000 new applications since March.

In November last year, Shanghai's commerce authority seized more than 12,000 counterfeit brand products in a series of raids on fake markets and factories in the city, including 400 scarves with fake Burberry labels, more than 5,000 fake Disney, Chanel, Ugg and Longchamp brand products and around 1,000 mobile phone accessories.

Earlier this year, WIPR reported that nearly 60,000 people suspected of committing IP infringement in China had been arrested last year.

The figures were revealed by the Ministry of Public Security during a press conference on January 22 in Beijing.