Wednesday, May 5, 2021
On April 26, 2021, China’s National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) released the Top Ten Cases of Administrative Trademark Adjudication (2020年度商标行政保护十大典型案例). Administrative adjudication in China is an alternative to conventional civil litigation and can be quicker and less expensive than litigation. That said, generally only fines and injunctions are issued in administrative enforcement actions. Those seeking damages should file litigation at a People’s Court instead or in addition.
The following are approximate translations of the summaries of the cases and expert comments as published by CNIPA. The original text (Chinese only) is available here: 2020 年度商标行政保护十大典型案例.
Case 1
Maanshan Market Supervision and Administration Bureau of Anhui Province investigated and dealt with the case of infringement of the exclusive right to use “