Master Wang has been running a daily necessities supermarket in the town for 4 years. In his store, he has a wide range of daily necessities, ranging from suitcases and quilts to nail clippers and toothpicks. There is not much shopping traffic in the town, and Master Wang’s net income in a year is about 30,000 to 50,000 yuan. Until September this year, the tranquility of this business was broken by a complaint.
A company sued him for selling counterfeit Woodpecker brand utility blades, allegedly infringing on the exclusive rights of a registered trademark, and demanded a compensation of 20,000 yuan. Master Wang inquired and found that there were six other nearby stores that had also been sued for alleged infringement of daily necessities they sold. In order to respond to the lawsuit, Master Wang successively joined three "Supermarket Rights Protection" WeChat groups, with a total of more than 100 people, and found that they were all facing similar lawsuits to Master Wang.
Chengdu Business Daily reporter learned that the court opening announcement on the Chengdu Court website showed that on October 19, only a company named Honglian International Trading Co., Ltd. was the plaintiff in 22 trademark and copyright infringement cases, and the defendant Fang Jun is super City and department stores are located in Xinjin, Pidu, Wenjiang, Dayi, Qionglai, Chongzhou, Dujiangyan and other cities and counties around Chengdu.
The blade that was accused of infringement
The accused
sold for 15 yuan and demanded 20,000 yuan in compensation. More than 20,000 small supermarkets were banned for counterfeiting
The indictment received by Master Wang stated: The "Woodpecker" brand art blade belongs to the plaintiff Ningbo Fuda Blade Co., Ltd. The company's brand, in 1997, the company obtained the exclusive right to register the trademark "Woodpecker" (graphic trademark). Because Master Wang sold the allegedly infringing goods without the plaintiff's permission, he caused considerable economic losses to the plaintiff. Another notarial certificate issued by the Gangdu Notary Office in Laiwu City, Shandong Province showed that a company named Laicheng District Haina Huitong Intellectual Property Agency Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Laiwu Haina Huitong) claimed that it relied on knowledge The property right owner authorizes the notary office to apply for evidence preservation and notarization. On January 25, 2018, Yang, the agent entrusted by Laiwu Haina Huitong, and two notaries came to Master Wang’s store. Yang purchased 5 boxes of Woodpecker art blades as an ordinary consumer and obtained a shopping receipt. . Then I returned to the notary office in Shandong, where the notary took photos of the purchased items and sealed them.
"I bought something in January, but I only filed a lawsuit in September. It has been so long, and I don’t remember such a group of people buying blades. Moreover, a box of blades was 3 yuan, and 5 boxes were sold for only 15 yuan. I No impression at all, not sure if they are there I bought the thing." Master Wang also told the court these words, but according to the law, he must provide evidence, either to prove that he did not sell the thing and that the above-mentioned person did not buy the blade; or to prove that he was aware of the fake product. Without knowledge, and can provide legal purchase channels.
But it's not easy. Mr. Zhang's department store is not far from Master Wang's store. He was sued for compensation of 20,000 yuan because he was suspected of infringing the plaintiff's exclusive trademark licensing rights because a "big-mouthed monkey" pattern was printed on a woven bag priced at 8 yuan. "I found the purchase receipt at that time, but it did not clearly say 'Big Mouth Monkey Woven Bag'. The court said that this cannot prove the exact purchase information. But we usually write very simple purchase receipts, don't mention the brand name, sometimes just write The item number is not stamped,” Mr. Zhang said.
, like Mr. Zhang, was accused of selling goods with the "Big Mouth Monkey" pattern without permission. Four other stores were accused. The plaintiff was Honglian International Trading Co., Ltd., and the remaining one store suffered the same fate as Master Wang. He was also sued for selling Woodpecker utility blades. The owners of these stores told reporters from Chengdu Commercial Daily that the other party's claims were very similar. An agent entrusted by Laiwu Haina Huitong brought notaries from Laiwu, Shandong to Chengdu at the beginning of this year, and then purchased the suspected goods in their stores. For infringing goods, obtain the purchase voucher, and then have the notary take photos and seal them to preserve the evidence. In addition, there is almost always a gap of more than half a year between the time of purchasing the goods and the filing of the case.
"The monitoring in the store can generally only be saved for a maximum of 3 months, and some are even automatically overwritten and deleted after more than 10 days, so it is impossible to confirm whether they have been to the store through monitoring.Although the shopping receipt they presented was stamped, how do I know what product the receipt corresponds to? Ms. Xiao felt aggrieved when she was sued for selling a pillowcase with a "Big Mouth Monkey" pattern on it. Among the materials sent to her by the court, there was attached a shopping receipt preserved by the other party. The product name written on it was "Deer Hair Pillowcase" and was stamped.
Products with the "Big Mouth Monkey" pattern
questioned whether
was a counterfeiting or a money-making scheme. Road"?
After receiving the indictment, these merchants removed the products involved, but Master Wang said frankly that if the infringement was really counterfeit, it would be difficult for small traders like them to guard against it.
"Generally when purchasing goods , just look at which pattern is good-looking, easy to sell, and the price is right. They don’t pay attention to or care about whether the pattern is a famous brand, nor will they raise the price just because there is an extra pattern. Besides, how can you recognize all the brands? The manufacturer and wholesaler did not tell us this brand. The "Big Mouth Monkey" pillowcase in Ms. Xiao's store sells for 13 yuan, which is basically the same price as other pillowcases of the same quality and purchased in the same batch. After running the store for more than three years, Ms. Xiao said that no customer has ever complained about the "imitation" of something they bought. "They (consumers) must know whether the goods they are buying at this price are brand-name or not." If we say we want to buy genuine products, we will definitely not sell fakes as genuine products, as the prices will be different. "
But on the other hand, the sales of famous brand and high-priced products in small urban and rural supermarkets like Ms. Xiao's and Master Wang's are not high. A bottle of authentic Maotai liquor priced at about 1,000 yuan in Ms. Xiao's store has been on the shelves for almost a year. No one cares about it. Therefore, high-quality and cheap products are their first choice when purchasing.
A few days ago. , Mr. Yang, who was also sued for selling Woodpecker art blades, went to the court to observe the trial of his colleagues. He disagreed with the plaintiff’s claim that he was “anti-counterfeiting and defending rights.” He believed that the ultimate purpose of the entire similar “anti-counterfeiting routine” was to make money. We only found out during the litigation process, and it was difficult to find evidence. “If it was to combat counterfeiting, why didn’t you just notify us to remove the fakes? Why not go to the source of production and wholesale, but go to the end retailer? "
Master Wang also calculated an account in his notebook. The price of the allegedly infringing goods sold by him and the accused colleague was basically more than 10 yuan, but the other party claimed 20,000 yuan. Excluding the other party's transportation expenses to and from Chengdu, notarization Fees, legal fees and other expenses, if you win a lawsuit, you will get income. Looking at so many provinces and cities across the country, and so many small supermarkets in urban and rural areas, Master Wang thinks that is a considerable amount of income. "They are making money." ', it's not a crackdown on counterfeiting at all! The shops around us don’t have a lot of traffic. In a year, each family can only earn 30,000 or 50,000. Some of them can earn more than 100,000, but they can’t withstand such a ‘counterfeiting’. Almost all of them are taken away in one go. 1 year profit. ”
Woodpecker Blade’s Trademark Registration Certificate
Lessons
Try to identify fakes But it is difficult to recognize the brand. On the day of the hearing, Mr. Yang counted about 7 or 8 stores that were sued on the same day. According to the court opening announcement on the Chengdu Court website, on October 19, only Honglian was involved. international trade Yi Co., Ltd. was the plaintiff in 22 cases, and the defendants were supermarkets and department stores in Xinjin, Pidu, Wenjiang, Dayi, Qionglai, Chongzhou, Dujiangyan and other cities and counties surrounding Chengdu. “I checked some judgments. , many stores lose money and lose money. " Mr. Yang said.
A product suspected of infringement worth more than ten yuan may lose tens of thousands of yuan in profit. This cost is not small for these small supermarkets. "In the future, we must be more careful, and everything related to the 'Big Mouth Monkey' I don’t buy any more goods. When buying goods from wholesalers, I try to ask them to write the order clearly and include the brand name. "Ms. Zhan, who was sued for selling "Big Mouth Monkey" bed sheets, said, but at the same time she was very worried. "There are so many brands on the market. Today I know Big Mouth Monkey and Woodpecker. Tomorrow there might be another brand I don't recognize to defend my rights. If this continues It’s endless, and our business doesn’t have to be done.” Mr. Xiang, who was beside
, also believed that if we want to crack down on counterfeiting, we hope we can start from the source. The industrial and commercial departments or trademark rights holders will go to counterfeiting factories and wholesalers to crack down on counterfeiting, so as to prevent fakes and imitations from entering the market, and stores will naturally not purchase and sell them. .
Chengdu one market and A staff member of the Law Enforcement Brigade of the Quality Supervision Administration stated that merchants selling suspected infringing goods are a "sideline" behavior. Once discovered, they will be investigated and dealt with accordingly according to the law. "The way to discover such counterfeit sales is generally to take the initiative during regular inspections. Discovery, consumer complaints and reports, trademark rights holder complaints, etc. However, compared with quality and safety issues such as food safety that directly affect personal health, trademark infringement issues are not easy to detect. As a merchant, you need to bear the responsibility of inspecting, checking, and ensuring that the goods come from a legitimate source. Selling fake goods or even knowingly selling fake goods will mislead consumers and violate corresponding laws and regulations. "
Products printed with the "Big Mouth Monkey" pattern
Trademark rights holder:
Compensation proceeds from the anti-counterfeiting litigation will be given to the anti-counterfeiting team
On the afternoon of October 17, the reporter contacted the rights holder of the Woodpecker Blade trademark Ningbo Fuda Blade Co., Ltd. (below) Called Ningbo Fuda), his father-in-law Ms. Fang from the sales department of the company told reporters that cracking down on small vendors and small supermarkets is not their fundamental purpose. Fake Woodpecker blades are widely sold in the market, which has a great impact on the company's business and reputation. In addition, Ms. Fang said. Ningbo Fuda has a cooperative relationship with the anti-counterfeiting team, not an employment relationship. “We have hired a team of lawyers and agencies to help the company fight counterfeiting, but the compensation received from the lawsuit does not belong to us, but to these anti-counterfeiting teams, and we do not need to pay for the anti-counterfeiting team. cost. Therefore, our purpose is to stop the proliferation of fakes and infringement, not to make profits. "
Ms. Fang said that throughout the entire anti-counterfeiting process, Ningbo Fuda only issued the corresponding authorization and stamped documents to verify the authenticity of the goods, and was not involved in other links. "Currently, our company has also paid attention to the situation of many small traders claiming for counterfeiting, and also Communicated with the anti-counterfeiting team. The company's original intention was to crack down on some large manufacturers and wholesalers and find the source of counterfeit goods, but in practice it requires a process. "Ms. Fang said that the price of blades is low and the profit margins are not large. There are many vendors who are lucky enough to buy counterfeit products because the price is lower. If they did not sell counterfeit products, they would not be subject to compensation." We are more willing to reach a settlement with these merchants, so that they can stop selling fake goods and contact our genuine manufacturers to purchase goods. This will benefit everyone. "
Rights defender lawyer:
We are different from " professional anti-counterfeiters "
Lawyer Liu, the attorney of Honglian International Trade Co., Ltd., told the Chengdu Business Daily reporter that many of the "Big Mouth Monkey" infringement disputes in this court session were caused by He acted as an agent, but he said that he and Laiwu Haina Huitong were not from the same group. “Laiwu Haina Huitong was acting as an agent for evidence preservation, and I was a lawyer assigned by the law firm to appear in court to respond to the lawsuit. We are different from professional anti-counterfeiters, who make money by cracking down on counterfeiting. We are authorized by intellectual property rights holders to defend their rights. ”
In addition to suing the store for infringement claims, lawyer Liu said that he had reported the found fake and imitation goods manufacturers to the public security, industry and commerce and other relevant departments in response to the merchant’s question of “why not go to the fake goods manufacturers and wholesalers.” “As far as I know, the rights holders have also informed stores to stop purchasing and selling fake and counterfeit goods by issuing announcements, sending materials, etc., but this cannot exhaust all vendors in the country. If we do not crack down on the sale of counterfeit goods, it will be detrimental to the real rights holders. In the long run, it will also be detrimental to the traders themselves, who will always lack legal awareness and brand awareness. "
Expert analysis:
To a certain extent, it is conducive to changing consumption habits.
Small supermarkets in urban and rural areas have been intensively cracked down on counterfeiting. According to Shi Jichun, professor of economic law at Renmin University of China, this is conducive to improving consumers' consumption levels and changing consumption to a certain extent. Habits are also conducive to promoting industrial upgrading."In the past, everyone's income was not high, and the competition for goods in the market was mainly based on low prices, followed by low quality, which may have infringed on intellectual property rights and no one was held accountable. But now the economy is constantly developing, and if we want to promote industrial upgrading, we cannot win simply through low prices. . If it is indeed a legitimate rights holder who is defending his rights and there is no extortion, this is It can urge merchants to proactively refuse to purchase fake and infringing goods when purchasing goods in the future. "
Regarding the difficulty of identifying brands, Shi Jichun believes that experienced traders who have been in the business for many years should be clearer about the quality and price of genuine and fake goods. The difference is a choice to pursue interests. "The reason why some small supermarkets in urban and rural areas purchase low-price or low-quality products is largely to cater to the shopping needs of local consumers." Shi Jichun said that if merchants at the sales terminal pay the price for selling counterfeit goods or infringement, they will take the initiative to boycott , choosing to purchase higher-grade goods will naturally help change local consumption habits and improve product quality. No one sells low-price, low-quality fakes, so no one buys them, and naturally no one produces them. This also promotes curbing the source of counterfeiting.
Legal Tips
Merchants who encounter anti-counterfeiting and rights protection lawsuits must know how to present evidence and respond to the lawsuit
"First of all, we must make it clear that merchants should not sell fake and infringing goods. A market without fakes is the market we expect. Secondly, as an uninformed person, Merchants who are sued should actively respond to the lawsuit and safeguard their legitimate rights and interests. When filing a lawsuit, you need to provide evidence to prove your purchase channels, including invoices, purchase lists, etc. If you are indeed not selling counterfeit products or committing infringement, you should also provide product inspection certificates, trademark registration certificates, or authorized use agreements to prove the legality of the sales. When purchasing goods, merchants should ask for these documents, documents, etc. from wholesalers, manufacturers and other relevant parties,” said Zeng De, deputy director of the Intellectual Property Research Center of Southwest University of Political Science and Law.
In addition, Zeng Dede believes that there are too many brands on the market and it is difficult to identify them one by one. However, supermarkets and stores, as distributors, should be responsible for the products they sell, including product quality and not infringing on the rights of others. To this end, he made several suggestions. First, dealers should investigate their own suppliers (manufacturers, upstream dealers) and seek regular producers and operators. Secondly, suppliers are required to provide business licenses, product inspection reports, registered trademark certificates or license agreements and other information. In addition, if you have difficulty identifying it yourself, you can ask professionals for advice.
(Source: Chengdu Business Daily)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-