Recently, regarding the trademark infringement dispute case between Guizhou Jinsha Cellar Wine Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as the Jinsha Wine), represented by Unitalen, and Guizhou Jinsha Andi Dou Liquor Co., Ltd and Guizhou Jinsha Gu Liquor Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as the Andi Dou Liquor Company and Jinsha Gu Liquor Company, respectively) and others, the Supreme People's Court made a retrial decision and upheld the second instance judgment made by the High People's Court of Shandong Province. Unitalen achieved a victory in rights protection representing the client.

Case Brief

The Jinsha Wine is the oldest existing brewery in Jinsha County, Guizhou Province, formerly known as Jinsha Cellar Winery, which was founded by the local government in the 1950s. Famous wines made by the Jinsha Wine, such as "金沙窖酒(Jinsha Cellar Wine)" and "金沙回沙酒(Jinsha Hui Sha Jiu)", have been recognized as the Eight Famous Wines of Guizhou and have received many other honors. Jinsha has been awarded the protection of a well-known trademark many times, and the brand "金沙(Jinsha)" of the Jinsha Wine has been recognized as a China Time-honored Brand by five departments including the Ministry of Commerce and the CNIPA.

The courts of the first instance and the second instance determined that the act of the Andi Dou Liquor Company and Jinsha Gu Liquor Company in using "金沙古沙(Jinsha Gusha)" on the wine products constitutes an infringement of the exclusive right of the trademark "金沙回沙酒(Jinsha Hui Sha Jiu)" of the Jinsha Wine. The Supreme People's Court made a retrial decision and upheld the original judgment regarding the determination that "金沙古沙(Jinsha Gusha)" constitutes trademark infringement.

Case Analysis

The retrial decision made by the Supreme People's Court further confirmed the fact that the registered trademark "金沙回沙酒(Jinsha Hui Sha Jiu)" of the Jinsha Wine has relatively high distinctiveness and popularity, and at the same time also solved the so-called problem that the rights of the registered trademark "金沙回沙酒(Jinsha Hui Sha Jiu)" conflict with the rights of the geographical indication products, which lays a great foundation for further rights protection action of the Jinsha Wine.

Typical Significance

This case is of certain typical significance in the law application issues regarding the protection of trademarks involving geographic names, the relationship between registered trademarks and geographical indication products, etc.