2025-03-31
Attorney Lawrence Wang of the ACIES Team, collaborating with Attorney Liu Guoqing of Yingke Law Firm Shenzhen Office, represented a client in an administrative lawsuit against a trademark invalidation ruling by the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), securing a first-instance victory from the Beijing IP Court.
Case Background:
The client applied for Trademark A in October 2012 and obtained registration in March 2014.
In April 2023, when the client sought supplementary registration for the same mark "A" in identical product categories, CNIPA rejected the application, citing Trademark A’—registered by a Guangzhou company in February 2023. This rejection was upheld through rejection review, first-instance and second-instance administrative litigation, and became legally effective.
Invalidation Proceedings:
The client then cited its 2012 Trademark A to request CNIPA invalidate Guangzhou company’s Trademark A’.
CNIPA ruled that the two marks were not similar enough to cause confusion on identical or similar goods, maintaining A’ s validity.
Litigation Strategy & Court Ruling:
Dissatisfied with CNIPA’s decision, the client engaged Yingke Law Firm Shenzhen Office, assigning Attorneys Wang and Liu to file an administrative lawsuit with the Beijing IP Court.
The legal team meticulously analyzed the case and created visual presentations to highlight key arguments, enabling the court to efficiently grasp critical points.
The Beijing IP Court held that the distinctive components of the disputed mark (A’) and the cited mark (A) were highly similar in visual appearance, concluding their coexistence on identical/similar goods would likely confuse the public—a violation of Article 30 of the Trademark Law. The court thus revoked CNIPA’s invalidation ruling and ordered CNIPA to re-adjudicate the matter.
