Recently, the Chongqing First Intermediate People's Court issued a judgment of first instance in the case of infringement of trademark right dispute between SEMK PRODUCTS LIMITED and others (hereinafter referred to as "Hong Kong B.Duck 小黄鸭", represented by Unitalen) and certain companies in Wenzhou. The court determined that the No. 8814480 trademark "", and the No. 8814488 trademark "" owned by Hong Kong B.Duck 小黄鸭 had constituted the famous trademarks before August 7, 2019 and September 17, 2019, respectively. Use of "G.DUCK", "", "G.DUCKKIDS", "", and other marks by the certain company in Wenzhou on its goods, such as thermal cups and bowls, had constituted trademark infringement. The company was ordered to stop the infringement, compensate for 4.3 million yuan, and publish a statement in the Wenzhou Daily to eliminate the effects.

Case brief

The history of Hong Kong B.Duck 小黄鸭can be traced back to 2001. The founder, Mr. Hui Ha Lam, created the signature character B.Duck and commenced the retail business for B.Duck featured consumer merchandise in 2005. In 2020, B.Duck became the No. 1 proprietary IP brand (in terms of revenue) in China. B.Duck has also won the LIMA Asian Licensing Award, Jade Monkey Award and other influential industry awards, and has been included in the Guangdong Key Trademark Protection List, enjoying a high reputation.

The defendant, the certain company in Wenzhou, used the marks "", "", "", "", and "" on "canteens, kettles, cups, thermal food jars, thermal bowls" and other goods, and publicized, promoted and sold them through offline stores, e-commerce platforms, self-media platforms and other ways. In response to the defendant's act of trademark infringement, Hong Kong B.Duck 小黄鸭 filed a lawsuit with the Chongqing First Intermediate People's Court in March 2023.

Judgement viewpoint

I. The plaintiff's trademarks "" and "" have constituted well-known trademarks prior to the date of the application for registration of the sued marks.

II. The use of the marks such as "" and "" by the defendant on thermal cups, bowls and other goods is likely to lead to confusion and misrecognition of the relevant public, and also lead to trademark dilution, which infringes the plaintiff's exclusive right to use the famous trademarks.

III. The punitive legal compensation is applicable to determine the amount of damages.

Case significance

Through this case, Unitalen assisted Hong Kong B.Duck 小黄鸭 in realizing the first judicial determination of the famous trademarks "" and "". Meanwhile, this case fully demonstrates how to utilize IP means to protect domestic original IP actively and provides a good reference example for other flourishing Chinese IP brands to defend their rights.