January 15, 2014

On November 20 after a long trial, the Pudong New Area People’s Court issued a first-instance judgment in the trademark infringement dispute between the world famous chocolate company “Lindt” and. Lind Shanghai. Engaged by the “Lindt” trademark owner Chocoladefabriken　Lindt　&　Sprungli　AG （”Lindt Company”）, Watson & Band attorneys Jean Yang and Yizhou Liu participated in several fierce in-court disputes, finally winning a favorable judgment.

Lindt Company is a Swiss famous chocolate manufacturer that was established in 1845 and boasts a long history. Since the 1980s the Lindt company has been registering its trademarks with the SIAC Trademark Office to protect its intellectual property. These trademarks include “"as applied to chocolate and “Lindt” and“"as applied to café and restaurant services.

Upon Lindt’s engagement, Watson & Band attorneys investigated and discovered that Lind (Shanghai) and its subsidiaries widely used the "" trademark -- which is similar to “Lindt” -- for their coffee, tea, bread, cake, biscuit, yogurt and ice-cream products, in a manner that was suspected of committing trademark infringement. Accordingly, in October 2012 Watson & Band filed a lawsuit against Lind (Shanghai) with the Pudong New Area People’s Court.

The court stated in its final judgment that (i) the Lindt company’s three trademarks were entitled to legal protection and (ii) after long-term use the “” trademark has acquired a significant reputation with respect to chocolates; and (iii) Lind (Shanghai) used a trademark similar to“” to identical or similar products and applied a trademark similar to “Lindt” and “” to the same service, thereby infringing Lindt’s registered trademark rights. For these reasons Lind (Shanghai) was ordered to stop using the infringing trademarks and bear civil compensation liability.

In this case Watson & Band attorneys submitted sufficient evidence to show the court in various ways that Lind (Shanghai)’s use of the trademarks was infringing. They also used various methods to prove the crucial issue in the case – the “possibility of confusion”, which effectively rebutted Lind (Shanghai)’s “fair use” defense. Moreover, Watson & Band’s attorneys submitted evidence of actual confusion from the Internet, which proved that some consumers mistakenly confused Lind (Shanghai)’s products and café with Lindt’s products.

If Lind (Shanghai) does not appeal, the first instance trial will come into force soon.