On April 22, 2013 when the 13th World Intellectual Property Day was coming soon, the Supreme People's Court released its report on Juridical Protection of Intellectual Property by Chinese Courts in 2012 and announced the top 10 cases and top 50 typical cases on juridical protection of the intellectual property by Chinese courts in 2012. The "SANY" well-known trademark protection case and the U.S. Ashland patent and trade secret case, both represented by Unitalen, were respectively elected as the 2012 top 10 intellectual property cases and top 50 typical cases.

According to the person in charge of the intellectual property tribunal of the Supreme People's Court, the top 10 cases and the top 50 typical cases announced this time were selected from the 148 cases submitted by the high people's courts and the 366 intellectual property cases concluded by the Supreme People's Court in 2012. These cases have typical significance in law application and great social influence, not only exhibiting the achievement and strength of intellectual property juridical protection by Chinese courts, but also providing examples of rights protection that can be used for reference for the parties involved.

Below we present introductions to the "SANY" well-known trademark protection case and the U.S. Ashland patent and trade secret case represented by Unitalen:

1 "SANY" well-known trademark protection case

SANY Heavy Industry Co., Ltd (hereinafter referred to as SANY Heavy Industry) is the owner of the exclusive right to use the registered trademark "SANY". Without the permission of SANY Heavy Industry, Maanshan Yonghe Heavy Industry Science and Technology Co., Ltd (formerly known as Maanshan SANY Heavy Industry Machinery Manufacturing Co., Ltd, hereinafter referred to as Yonghe Company) included "SANY" into its enterprise name, and used "SANY Heavy Industry", "SANY Machine Tool" and other marks on its machine tool products, outerior wall of plant, advertisements and website homepage. Accordingly, SANY Heavy Industry filed a lawsuit of trademark infringement and unfair competition.

Changsha Intermediate People's Court of Hunan Province issued the first instance judgment that Yonghe Company should stop the trademark infringement and unfair competition activities, and compensate SANY Heavy Industry for the economic loss of RMB 400,000 Yuan. The High People's Court of Hunan Province affirmed the original judgment in the last instance.

SANY Heavy Industry is a well-known domestic enterprise, and its registered trademark "SANY" is extensively known to the relevant public. Yonghe Company highlighted the "SANY" mark on its machine tool products, and included "SANY" into its enterprise name. According to stipulations of the Trademark Law, the courts recognized the registered trademark "SANY" owned by SANY Heavy Industry as a well-known trademark, and ruled that the activities of Yonghe Company constituted trademark infringement and unfair competition. Through the juridical recognition of well-known trademark, the judgment effectively protected legitimate rights and interests of the trademark right owner, with positive significance in maintaining normal economic order, suppressing activites of "disguising for famous brands" and "free riding", and promoting brands of well-known enterprises.

2 Patent and trade secret case of U.S. Ashland

Please click http://www.unitalenlaw.com/Newsletter/newsletter80.htm#9 for the case details.