Beijing Zhiyuan Intellectual Property Agency Ltd. (“Zhiyuan Company” or “our company” hereinafter), as the agency of Harbin Bank Co. Ltd. (“Harbin Bank” hereinafter), filed an opposition against No.5867623 figurative trademark registered by Lv Qiuyang and had the disputed trademark revoked successfully by quoting prior copyright of Harbin Bank.

In 2006, Harbin Bank entrusted Harbin Gonghe Advertisement Marketing and Planning Ltd. to design the figure of the disputed trademark. The applicant tried to register the figurative trademark on Nov. 27th, 2006 but to be told that the Trademark Office (“the TMO” hereinafter) cannot accept the application due to inconsistent seals of documents. In 2007, again, the applicant filed an application, which was refused because applicant’s name was different from the name involved in the trademark. Our company claimed that the disputed trademark was identical to the figure, the copyright of which our applicant owned, thus constituting infringement of our applicant’s copyright of the said figurative trademark and being considered as improper squatting of prior-used influential trademark.

After judging, the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board (“the TRAB” hereinafter) of the State Administration of Industry and Commerce (“the SAIC” hereinafter) gave the S.P.Z. [2012] No.51354 Trademark Dispute Verdict, saying that the disputed trademark, which the respondent tried to register while the copyright of which the applicant owned, infringed the applicant’s prior copyright of the said figurative trademark. Hence, according to Art.31, Section 2 of Art.41 and Art.42 of Trademark Law of People’s Republic of China, the TRAB decided to revoke the disputed trademark.

Unhappy about the verdict, Lv Qiuyang filed an administrative suit to Beijing No.1 Intermediate People’s Court and then appealed to Beijing Higher People’s Court, claiming that the disputed figurative trademark was designed by himself. However, there is no evidence whatsoever to support Lv Qiuyang’s claims. Beijing No.1 Intermediate People’s Court decided to support the TRAB’s decision, which was also upheld by Beijing Higher People’s Court.

So far, the dispute between Harbin Bank Co. Ltd. and Lv Qiuyang regarding the figurative trademark has been solved. Zhiyuan Company helped Bank of Harbin to have the No.5867623 figurative trademark, which registered by Lv Qiuyang, revoked successfully by quoting the prior copyright of Harbin Bank and put the Intellectual Property of Harbin Bank under the protection of law

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