On Friday, Beijing Economic and Trade Bureau Economic Inspection Brigade informed Ma Xiang, a lawyer of Beijing Baoma Automobile Service Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Beijing BMW), to the Industry and Commerce Bureau to make final comments and await the ruling of the industrial and commercial department. Beijing BMW, the first German BMW dealership in China, and the company that originally identified BMW's Chinese name as “BMWâ€, are now facing the problem that German BMW has requested that it change its corporate name, and it is likely to trigger Lawsuit between Beijing BMW and Germany's BMW Group. Analysts pointed out that this may be the first intellectual property dispute encountered by the German BMW Group with strong development momentum in the country. Beijing BMW: Does Not Constitute Infringement on German BMW Yesterday, Li Weitian, director of the Beijing BMW office, told reporters that “we have prior rights to use and do not constitute infringement of German BMW.†Beijing BMW Service Company stated that they were 1992 On May 29th, the company was registered with the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, and German BMW Company obtained the exclusive right of “BMW†trademark in the field of “car repair†service on September 28, 1995. In accordance with the provisions of Article 31 of the Trademark Law, they have the right to revoke the German company’s “BMW†trademark on the basis of the prior company name right. Li Weitian introduced that initially BMW (China) Co., Ltd. and BMW Cars (Switzerland) Co., Ltd. agreed to use the “BMW and Map†logo in the official seal of Beijing BMW after being approved by the industry and commerce and public security authorities. After the cooperation between the two parties was terminated in 1995, Beijing BMW has been providing various brands of auto repair business. According to another understanding, Beijing BMW Service Co., Ltd. also seized a detail that the car produced and sold by BMW AG in Germany was originally called “Bayler†in China. It was the German company that signed an authorized maintenance agreement with Beijing. After the suggestion of the Beijing company, it changed the "Bair" to "BMW" and registered the trademark. Beijing BMW pointed out that the German company did not have any rights to “BMW†before changing the “Bayler†trademark to “BMWâ€. Meanwhile, Beijing BMW Service Company also emphasized in its reply to the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Industry and Commerce last year that The behavior did not mislead consumers and there was no infringement. At the same time, they also reserve the right to sue in the courts and safeguard their legitimate rights and interests regarding the "BMW" title. German BMW: It is not convenient to introduce the relevant person. At the beginning, the people at the German headquarters did not use BMW to promote them, but they were not satisfied with BMW promotion. But compared to BMW or Boyle, Chinese consumers are more Can accept the name "BMW." On June 3, at the press conference that BMW announced the current auto show model, Kong Ande, chief representative of the BMW Beijing office, admitted in an interview that BMW is a very good name. Yesterday, the reporter contacted Ma Qingsheng, public relations manager of the German BMW Beijing office, who was on a business trip to Germany. He said that the dispute with the name of the BMW Car Service Company in Beijing was handled by the relevant legal department. He himself was not very clear. Therefore, it is not convenient at this time. He said that the German BMW Beijing office will give a statement on the "BMW" trademark issue recently. Trademark Department: The company name and trademark are not the same thing. But in 1995, the agency contract between Beijing BMW Automotive Services (Bomalia) and BMW Germany expired. Due to the market and other reasons, BMW Germany stopped its agency relationship with it. Immediately, BMW Germany registered the “BMW†trademark in the State Administration of Industry and Commerce. Yesterday, the reporter learned from the relevant trademark department that at the moment when they accepted the registration of a company's trademark, they would query through the system database whether the same or similar trademark had already been registered in the relevant field. Therefore, there would normally be no trademark re-registration event. However, in the case of the “BMW†dispute, it is not the trademark but the name of the company that is registered by the Beijing BMW Service Company. It is not in the same category as the trademark registered by the German BMW company. According to the reporter's understanding, disputes involving such company names and commodity trademarks are not uncommon, and the State Administration for Industry and Commerce has also issued the “Opinions on Resolving Certain Issues in Trademarks and Names of Enterprisesâ€. It pointed out that “the confusion between the handling of trademarks and company names should apply to the principle of safeguarding fair competition and protecting the interests of the prior legal rights holders.†Previously there have been similar ruling cases, such as “Hangzhou Zhang Xiaoquan†is a well-known trademark. However, it did not receive support from Shanghai Zhang Xiaoquan Knife & Cut Manufacturing Co., Ltd. in the dispute over trademark and trade name disputes. Recently, Qu Long, chairman of Beijing BMW Automotive Service Co., Ltd., said in an interview with reporters that they are sure to insist on using this name. “We registered first and we cannot (BMW Group) change it.†Beijing BMW vs. German BMW In response to the complaint on trademark infringement, Germany’s BMW Company (hereinafter referred to as “Complainantâ€) complained about the case of Beijing Baoma Automobile Service Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as the “Complainantâ€) in trademark infringement. The complainant is now defending again as follows: 1. Standards for determining service trademark infringement Should be higher than the standard for identifying trademark infringement of goods. Based on the above characteristics, service is less likely to confuse consumers than commodities. Therefore, the principle of strictness should be applied to the determination of service trademark infringement, that is, to raise the standard of infringement. This case is a service trademark infringement question, whether it constitutes infringement should be carefully considered. Second, the determination of service trademark infringement should be based on whether or not there is confusion. 3. The use of "BMW" on the official seal by the complainee will not cause confusion to the relevant public and should not be deemed as infringement. First of all, the relevant public who accept the "BMW" car repair service is very special. 1. Very few people; 2. Very high level; 3. Strong cognitive ability. This related public is very unlikely to confuse maintenance services. We should be convinced that the owner of a BMW car can't be stupid enough to see the BMW on the chapter and then go to repair BMW. In short, the behavior of the respondent cannot confuse the relevant public. Therefore, the complainee should not be considered as infringing. 4. The company name of the respondent has an earlier right and should be maintained. Beijing Baoma Automobile Service Co., Ltd. registered at the State Administration for Industry and Commerce on May 29, 1992. In other words, on May 29, 1992, the respondent had the right to the name of the company as stipulated in the "General Principles of Civil Law" and other laws and regulations. The complainant obtained the “BMW†trademark exclusive right on the “car repair†service more than 3 years and 4 months later than the respondent on September 28, 1995. According to Article 31 of the Trademark Law, the The complainant has the right to revoke the applicant’s “BMW†trademark based on the prior company name right. 5. The complainant did not have any rights to "BMW" before the "Bayler" was changed to BMW. The name of the car produced and sold by German BMW Company in China was originally referred to as “Bailâ€. It was precisely because the complainee became the authorized repairer of the complainant. "BMW". After that, German BMW company registered the "BMW" trademark. Source: Beijing Youth Daily
Company name raises lawsuit German BMW sued Beijing BMW
On Friday, Beijing Economic and Trade Bureau Economic Inspection Brigade informed Ma Xiang, a lawyer of Beijing Baoma Automobile Service Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Beijing BMW), to the Industry and Commerce Bureau to make final comments and await the ruling of the industrial and commercial department. Beijing BMW, the first German BMW dealership in China, and the company that originally identified BMW's Chinese name as “BMWâ€, are now facing the problem that German BMW has requested that it change its corporate name, and it is likely to trigger Lawsuit between Beijing BMW and Germany's BMW Group. Analysts pointed out that this may be the first intellectual property dispute encountered by the German BMW Group with strong development momentum in the country. Beijing BMW: Does Not Constitute Infringement on German BMW Yesterday, Li Weitian, director of the Beijing BMW office, told reporters that “we have prior rights to use and do not constitute infringement of German BMW.†Beijing BMW Service Company stated that they were 1992 On May 29th, the company was registered with the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, and German BMW Company obtained the exclusive right of “BMW†trademark in the field of “car repair†service on September 28, 1995. In accordance with the provisions of Article 31 of the Trademark Law, they have the right to revoke the German company’s “BMW†trademark on the basis of the prior company name right. Li Weitian introduced that initially BMW (China) Co., Ltd. and BMW Cars (Switzerland) Co., Ltd. agreed to use the “BMW and Map†logo in the official seal of Beijing BMW after being approved by the industry and commerce and public security authorities. After the cooperation between the two parties was terminated in 1995, Beijing BMW has been providing various brands of auto repair business. According to another understanding, Beijing BMW Service Co., Ltd. also seized a detail that the car produced and sold by BMW AG in Germany was originally called “Bayler†in China. It was the German company that signed an authorized maintenance agreement with Beijing. After the suggestion of the Beijing company, it changed the "Bair" to "BMW" and registered the trademark. Beijing BMW pointed out that the German company did not have any rights to “BMW†before changing the “Bayler†trademark to “BMWâ€. Meanwhile, Beijing BMW Service Company also emphasized in its reply to the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Industry and Commerce last year that The behavior did not mislead consumers and there was no infringement. At the same time, they also reserve the right to sue in the courts and safeguard their legitimate rights and interests regarding the "BMW" title. German BMW: It is not convenient to introduce the relevant person. At the beginning, the people at the German headquarters did not use BMW to promote them, but they were not satisfied with BMW promotion. But compared to BMW or Boyle, Chinese consumers are more Can accept the name "BMW." On June 3, at the press conference that BMW announced the current auto show model, Kong Ande, chief representative of the BMW Beijing office, admitted in an interview that BMW is a very good name. Yesterday, the reporter contacted Ma Qingsheng, public relations manager of the German BMW Beijing office, who was on a business trip to Germany. He said that the dispute with the name of the BMW Car Service Company in Beijing was handled by the relevant legal department. He himself was not very clear. Therefore, it is not convenient at this time. He said that the German BMW Beijing office will give a statement on the "BMW" trademark issue recently. Trademark Department: The company name and trademark are not the same thing. But in 1995, the agency contract between Beijing BMW Automotive Services (Bomalia) and BMW Germany expired. Due to the market and other reasons, BMW Germany stopped its agency relationship with it. Immediately, BMW Germany registered the “BMW†trademark in the State Administration of Industry and Commerce. Yesterday, the reporter learned from the relevant trademark department that at the moment when they accepted the registration of a company's trademark, they would query through the system database whether the same or similar trademark had already been registered in the relevant field. Therefore, there would normally be no trademark re-registration event. However, in the case of the “BMW†dispute, it is not the trademark but the name of the company that is registered by the Beijing BMW Service Company. It is not in the same category as the trademark registered by the German BMW company. According to the reporter's understanding, disputes involving such company names and commodity trademarks are not uncommon, and the State Administration for Industry and Commerce has also issued the “Opinions on Resolving Certain Issues in Trademarks and Names of Enterprisesâ€. It pointed out that “the confusion between the handling of trademarks and company names should apply to the principle of safeguarding fair competition and protecting the interests of the prior legal rights holders.†Previously there have been similar ruling cases, such as “Hangzhou Zhang Xiaoquan†is a well-known trademark. However, it did not receive support from Shanghai Zhang Xiaoquan Knife & Cut Manufacturing Co., Ltd. in the dispute over trademark and trade name disputes. Recently, Qu Long, chairman of Beijing BMW Automotive Service Co., Ltd., said in an interview with reporters that they are sure to insist on using this name. “We registered first and we cannot (BMW Group) change it.†Beijing BMW vs. German BMW In response to the complaint on trademark infringement, Germany’s BMW Company (hereinafter referred to as “Complainantâ€) complained about the case of Beijing Baoma Automobile Service Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as the “Complainantâ€) in trademark infringement. The complainant is now defending again as follows: 1. Standards for determining service trademark infringement Should be higher than the standard for identifying trademark infringement of goods. Based on the above characteristics, service is less likely to confuse consumers than commodities. Therefore, the principle of strictness should be applied to the determination of service trademark infringement, that is, to raise the standard of infringement. This case is a service trademark infringement question, whether it constitutes infringement should be carefully considered. Second, the determination of service trademark infringement should be based on whether or not there is confusion. 3. The use of "BMW" on the official seal by the complainee will not cause confusion to the relevant public and should not be deemed as infringement. First of all, the relevant public who accept the "BMW" car repair service is very special. 1. Very few people; 2. Very high level; 3. Strong cognitive ability. This related public is very unlikely to confuse maintenance services. We should be convinced that the owner of a BMW car can't be stupid enough to see the BMW on the chapter and then go to repair BMW. In short, the behavior of the respondent cannot confuse the relevant public. Therefore, the complainee should not be considered as infringing. 4. The company name of the respondent has an earlier right and should be maintained. Beijing Baoma Automobile Service Co., Ltd. registered at the State Administration for Industry and Commerce on May 29, 1992. In other words, on May 29, 1992, the respondent had the right to the name of the company as stipulated in the "General Principles of Civil Law" and other laws and regulations. The complainant obtained the “BMW†trademark exclusive right on the “car repair†service more than 3 years and 4 months later than the respondent on September 28, 1995. According to Article 31 of the Trademark Law, the The complainant has the right to revoke the applicant’s “BMW†trademark based on the prior company name right. 5. The complainant did not have any rights to "BMW" before the "Bayler" was changed to BMW. The name of the car produced and sold by German BMW Company in China was originally referred to as “Bailâ€. It was precisely because the complainee became the authorized repairer of the complainant. "BMW". After that, German BMW company registered the "BMW" trademark. Source: Beijing Youth Daily